'  -^  /asn-Ju 


xJ\f>, 


^'^RSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 

illinium 

00022226878 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/knockaboutclubinober 


RUINED    TOWER    IN    THE   PALACE    OF   PALENQUE,    THE    PAINTED   CITY. 


THE 


Knockabout  Club 


in 


SEARCH   OF  TREASURE 


BY 


FRED    A.   OBER, 

Author  of  "Travels  in  Mexico,"  Etc. 


[ 
FULLY    ILLUSTRATED 


BOSTON 
DANA    ESTES    AND    COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


•■W 


H 


Copyright,  1892, 
By  Estes  and  Lauriat. 


SEttibftsttg  Press: 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge,  U.S.A. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter  Page 

I.  We  meet  in  Mexico , u 

II.  A  Man-hunt  in  the  Aztec  Capital 32 

III.  An  American  Hero  and  some  Mexican  Gods 46 

IV.  The  Treasure  Symbols  of  the  Aztec  King      .     .     . 66 

V.  AZTLAN   TO    ZAPOTLAN .       . 76 

VI.  Mexican  Mountains  and  Mountaineers S7 

VII.  How  we  became  Millionaires 103 

VIII.  That  Golden  Butterfly , 116 

IX.  An  Intimate  Acquaintance  with  a  Mule 129 

X.  A  Ride  in  the  Rainy  Season 143 

XI.  The  Treasure- c ayes  of  Coatlan 160 

XII.  In  Peril  Underground 172 

XIII.  Palenque,  the  Painted  City 1S3 

XIV.  The  Great  Red  Hand  in  the  Ruined  Palace 19S 

XV.  Something  about  a  Strange  Country 216 

XVI.  The  Island  of  Tiziminchak     ...         233 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page 

Ruined  Tower  in  the  Palace  of  Pa- 

lenque,  the  Painted  City      .    Frontispiece 

The  Great  Cathedral 12 

Popocatepetl 13 

Huitzilopochtli,  God  of  War      ....  15 

Top  of  Sacrificial  Stone 16 

The  Sacrificial  Stone 17 

Sculpture  on  the  Side  of  the  Sacrificial 

Stone 19 

A  Pueblo 20 

Pueblo-dwellers 21 

Prairie-dog  Villages 22 

On  the  Summit 24 

A  Pueblo  Plaza 27 

Popocatepetl  from  Amecameca       ...  33 
Monterey,  —  Main    Plaza  and    Bishop's 

Palace 37 

Battle  of  Monterey,  Mexican  War      .     .  40 

Gen.  Zachary  Taylor 41 

Santa  Anna 41 

The  Plaza  and  La  Mitra  Monterey     .     .  42 

The  Cathedral,  Monterey 44 

The  Alameda,  Mexico 47 

Gen.  Winfield  Scott 49 

A  Mexican  Fountain 50 

Convent  of  La  Merced,  City  of  Mexico  .  51 

Street  Scene  in  Mexico 54 

Statue  of  Columbus,  Mexico       ....  55 


Page 

Castle  of  Chapultepec 59 

The  Court  of  the  Museum 61 

Cortez 64 

The  Cave  Period  (Aztec  Picture-Writing)  67 

Montezuma 69 

Aztec  Calendar  and  Cycle 71 

Peak  and  Crater  of  Orizaba 77 

Governor's  Palace,  Oaxaca 79 

Obtaining    Pulque    from    the     Maguay 

Plant 83 

The  Spaniards  in  Mexico 8S 

Juarez 90 

In  the  Mines  of  the  Montezuma     ...  93 

Cortez  received  by  Montezuma       ...  97 

La  Tortillera 104 

Indians  at  Work  in  the  Silver  Region    .  109 

In  the  Mines 117 

A  Mestiza  Girl 123 

One  Way  of  Catching  a  Mule    ....  130 

Grand  Hall,  Mitla 132 

Mexican  Child 136 

The  Grand  Palace  of  Mitla,  Province  of 

Oaxaca 139 

One  of  the  Pack-animals 141 

Vera  Cruz 145 

President  Diaz 148 

In  the  Interior  of  Mexico 150 

Mexican  Rainy  Day  Costume    .     .     .     .  151 


IO 


I L LUSTRA  TIONS. 


Vera  Cruz  and  Fort  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa  1 57 

The  Valley  of  Mexico 163 

Mexican  Bit,  Bridle,  and  Spurs      .     .     .  165 

Floating  Gardens  of  Mexico       ....  169 

Mexican  Garden 173 

M ay ar  Types  of  Indian 178 

Uxmal 184 

Ruins  of  Papantla 184 

Governor's  Palace,  Uxmal 185 

Court  of  the  Palace  of  Palenque  .  .  .  186 
Interior    of    a    Gallery   in    the    Palace 

of  Palenque 1S7 

Statue  from  Palenque 188 

First  Temple  of  Lorillard  City  ....  191 

Stucco  Ornament,  Palenque 193 

Half-breed    Women   and   Water-carrier, 

Merida 199 


Page 

The  Volan-coche 201 

The  Custom  House,  Progreso    ....  202 

Ja'ina,  near  Campeche 203 

Market-woman  of  Merida 205 

Casa  Municipal,  Merida 20^ 

Facade  of  Casa  de  las  Monjas  ....  207 

North  Facade  of  Nuns'  House,  Uxmal  .  208 

Governor's  Palace  at  Uxmal  ....  209 
Colossal  Head  at   the  Base  of    One  of 

the  Pyramids  at  Izamai  .....  211 

Street  of  Valladolid  .....,,.  213 

Grand  Gallery  at  Ake „  217 

The  Castle  at  Chichen-Itza 219 

Ornamentation    of    the    Palace    of    the 

Nuns,    Chichen-Itza    ......  220 

Municipal  Palace  of  Valladolid      ,     .  223 

Temple  at  Tuloom    ........  229 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


THE    KNOCKABOUT    CLUB 


IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


WE   MEET    IN    MEXICO. 

Glance  at  Aztlan.  —  The  Snow-covered  Mountains.  —  Pyramids  and  Tem- 
ples.—Where  our  Story  begins.  —  How  we  got  to  Mexico.  —  The  Pre- 
arranged Meeting.  —  The  Historian's  Adventure  by  the  Way.  —  Dog  or 
Cayote  ?  —  The  Prairie-dog  Village.  —  Seven  Cities  of  Cibola.  —  Acoma.  — 
The  Enchanted  Mesa.  —  Alone  among  Indians.  —  My  Bed  upon  the  Roof- 
top.—  My  Ride  with  an  Indian  Maiden. — Her  Face  was  rainbow-hued, 
painted  like  the  sky  of  morning. 

HE  city  of  Mexico,  capital  of  the  Republic  of  the 
same  name,  is  known  to  everybody,  and  we  are  not 
going  to  attempt  to  describe  it ;  but  there  are  a  few 
prominent  features  that  one  who  has  seen  it  loves 
to  dwell  upon  in  memory.  Situated  as  it  is,  the 
centre  of  a  vast  valley,  enclosed  within  a  wall  of 
mountains  two  hundred  miles  in  circumference,  it  occupies  a  position 
commanding  and  magnificent.  Fifty  miles  away  glisten  the  silver 
summits  of  Popocatepetl  and  Iztaccihuatl,  those  great  volcanoes  cov- 
ered with  perpetual  snow.  Who  can  forget  the  glorious  spectacle 
presented  of  a  morning  when  the  rising  sun  illumines  those  shining 
snow-fields,  and  of  an  evening  when  its  last  rays  gild  their  distant 
crests  ? 


12 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


Although  surrounded  with  the  most  magnificent  of  Nature's  works, 
having  in  view  an  ever-changing  panorama  of  her  grandest  produc- 
tions, the  city  itself  is  well  worthy  its  splendid  environment. 

In  the  centre  of  the  city  rises  the  great  cathedral,  the  grandest  on 
this  continent,  over  four  hundred  feet  in  length,  two  hundred  in 
breadth,  and  with  towers  two   hundred   feet  high.     It  was  nearly  a 


fi    .      Iffl  i    "  ' ili  j  =  1 

1  .       ,  ill,1     §  ...  &MmfaM££P*  .        !        ' ... 


%Mm 


<m 


m 


m 


■msmKm 


Bill     ,  "' :  ■    ■  sssothi   - 


^  i 


THE  GREAT  CATHEDRAL. 


century  in  building,  from  1573  to  1667,  and  cost  nearly  $2,000,000. 
The  interior,  even  to-day,  reminds  us  of  the  departed  glories  of  those 
times  when  priest  and  monk  controlled  the  destinies  of  Mexico.  It 
faces  the  great  square,  the  Plaza  Mayor,  on  another  side  of  which  is 
the  great  palace  of  the  President,  which  is  over  twenty-eight  hundred 
feet  in  length,  and  occupies,  it  is  said,  the  exact  site  of  the  ancient 
palace  of  Montezuma.     The  cathedral  itself  stands  upon  the  site  of 


WE  MEET  IN  MEXICO. 


15 


the  great  pyramid  which  was  erected  here  by  the  Aztecs,  and  up  the 
terraced  sides  of  which  many  a  victim  has  been  dragged  to  sacrifice. 
For  upon  its  summit  once  rested  the  sacrificial  stone  upon  which 
were    stretched    the    captives 


taken  in  battle,  and  their 
hearts  torn  out  and  offered 
to  the  god  of  war.  The  sac- 
rificial stone  may  now  be 
seen  in  the  court  of  the 
Mexican  Museum,  with  its 
sculptured  procession  of  con- 
quering kings,  and  in  its 
upper  surface  the  very 
groove  that  carried  away  the 
blood  of  the  mutilated  cap- 
tives. Near  it  and  overlook- 
ing it  rises  to-day,  even  as 
four  hundred  vears  as:o,  the 
war-god,  the  Mexican  Mars, 
Huitzilopochtli,  before  whom 
in  times  past  have  flowed 
rivers  of  blood. 

But,  there,  we  are  doing 
just  what  we  said  we  should 
not  do,  —  describing  the  capi- 
tal of  Aztlan.     Let  us  return 


t?0&Mh 


HUITZILOPOCHTLI,    GOD    OF    AVAR. 


to  the  Plaza;  for  here  it  is,  in  the  centre  of  this  city  of  ancient 
memories,  on  the  very  spot  once  looked  down  upon  by  Huitzilopochtli 
from    the  summit  platform    of    the  temple   pyramid,  that    our   story 


begins. 


In  the  middle  of  the   Plaza  is  a  pleasure-garden,  thickly  planted 
with  tall  eucalyptus-trees,  running  through  which  are  marble  walks, 


i6 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


like  white  and  frozen  rivers ;  statues  gleam  in  the  shade,  and  fountains 
send  forth  here  and  there  their  crystal  spray.  Altogether  it  is  a  most 
attractive  spot ;  and  one  is  tempted  to  linger  and  to  gaze  upon  the 
flowers,  the  birds,  and  the  brilliant  throng  of  passers-by. 


TOP    OF    SACRIFICIAL   STONE. 


Had  you,  my  dear  reader,  been  in  the  city  of  Mexico  and  walking 
across  its  Plaza  at  noon,  the  first  day  of  January,  1890,  you  might 
have  observed  a  young  man  of  about  our  age,  sitting  on  one  of  the 
benches  beneath  the  shade  of  the  eucalyptus-trees.  By  his  dress  you 
might  have  noted  that  he  was  not  a  Mexican,  perhaps  an  American, 
at   any  rate  a  cosmopolitan.     His  face   wore   an  anxious  expression, 


WE  MEET  IN  MEXICO. 


19 


and  notwithstanding  that  he  closely  scanned  the  people  passing,  he 
kept  one  eye  fixed  upon  the  cathedral  clock.  The  great  minute-hand 
moved  slowly  across  the  dial,  until  at  last  it  pointed  to  five  minutes 
past  twelve.  The  anxious  expression  on  the  young  man's  face  deep- 
ened into  a  frown,  and  he  muttered  to  himself,  "  This  is  really  un- 
accountable;  he  promised  to  be  here  at  noon,  sharp,  and  here  it  is  five 
minutes  past.     I  wonder  where  he  can  be." 


SCULPTURE   OX   THE   SIDE   OF   THE    SACRIFICIAL   STOXE. 

At  this  moment  his  meditations  were  interrupted  by  a  slap  on  the 
shoulder  from  an  unseen  hand,  and  turning  quickly,  he  saw  standing 
by  him  the  object  of  his  thoughts.  "Why,  Doctor,"  he  exclaimed, 
"  then  you  are  really  here ;  but  why  were  n't  you  on  time  ?  " 

"  On  time,  old  man  !  why,  I  was.  I  've  been  behind  that  tree  over 
there  watching  you  for  the  last  ten  minutes.  It  was  just  fun  to  watch 
the  different  shades  of  expression  chase  one  another  across  your 
countenance.  You  should  n't  get  impatient,  my  boy,  especially  when, 
as  you  know,  I  've  travelled  three  thousand  miles  to  meet  you  here." 

"  That's  true,  Doctor;  but  you  must  remember,  too,  I  've  left  some 
thirty-five  hundred  behind  me,  since  last  we  met,  and  it  was  just  as 
easy  for  you  as  it  was  for  me.     But  how  did  you  come  ? " 

"  Left  New  York  a  week  ago  ;  '  New  York  Central  and  Lake 
Shore '  to  Chicago,  '  Missouri  Pacific  '  down  across  Arkansas  and 
Texas  to  the  Rio  Grande,  and  the  rest  of  the  way  over  the  narrow- 
gauge.     And   you  ? " 


20 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


"  Well,  I  came  through  Chicago  also,  but  took  the  '  Atchison- 
Topeka  and  Santa  Fe '  across  Kansas,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico, 
stopped  off  to  have  a  peep  at  the  Pueblos,  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  at 
El  Paso,  and  over  the  '  Mexican  Central '  the  rest  of  the  way.  I  did  n't 
hurry,  but  took  two  weeks  for  the  trip,  stopping  off  at  Chihuahua, 
Zacatecas,  Guanajuato,  Aguas  Calientes,  and  Tula.     That  did  n't  give 


_-J 


A   PUEBLO. 


me  much  time,  of  course  ;  but  I  got  a  glimpse  of  some  of  the  great 
cities,  two  or  three  silver-mines  a  mile  or  so  deep,  and  saw  a  thousand 
or  more  of  the  most  picturesque  people  in  the  world." 

"  Yes,  Mexico  beats  the  world  for  that  kind  of  people ;  they  may 
not  be  very  clean,  those  Indians  we  see  on  the  plains,  and  they  may 
not  be  intelligent  enough  to  write  an  unabridged  dictionary;  but 
they  are  picturesque  and  peculiar.  But,  say,  did  n't  you  have  any 
adventures  on  the  way  ?  " 


WE   MEET  IN  MEXICO. 


21 


"  No  real  lively  adventures,  but  some  very  interesting  experiences. 
You  know,  I  visited  the  Pueblos  to  try  to  find  out  if  those  strange 
Indians  who  have  lived  so  many  hundred  years  all  by  themselves, 
had  any  knowledge  of  that  treasure-trove  the  Professor  was  investi- 
gating last  winter.  The  Pueblo-dwellers,  as  you  know,  are  quiet  and 
inoffensive  people,  devoted  to  their  herds  and  flocks  and  agriculture. 
They  have    never  made  any  trouble  whatever   for   our  Government, 


WA^^ifette— 


PUEBLO-DWELLERS. 


and  are  the  nearest  approach  to  the  Mexican  type  of  any  in  the 
United  States.  They  were  discovered  some  three  hundred  and  sixty 
years  ago,  and  in  1539  the  Spaniard  Coronado,  made  his  celebrated 
expedition  in  search  of  the  famous  treasure-cities,  the  Seven  Cities 
of  Cibola.  The  most  famous  of  those  ancient  cities  was  Acoma, 
which  was  built  upon  an  almost  inaccessible  mesa,  or  a  vast  rock, 
and  which  was  stormed  by  Coronado  in  1541.  The  people,  I  believe, 
made  desperate  defence,  rolling  down  great  rocks  upon  the  heads  of 


22 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 


the  invaders  ;  but  they  were  soon  conquered  by  Coronado.  I  wanted 
to  see  this  wonderful  pueblo,  and  so  I  left  the  railroad  at  the  station 
about  a  dozen  miles  away.  There  was  nobody  living  there  but  the 
station-agent,  and  the  plain  all  around  was  filled  with  prairie-dog 
villages.  Every  hole  had  a  comical  prairie-dog  sitting  at  the  mouth 
in  company  with. a  feathered  neighbor,  the  quaint  burrowing  owl. 
I  succeeded  in  shooting  one  of  the  owls,  which  I  skinned  and  stuffed  ; 


PRAIRIE-DOG   VILLAGES. 


but  the  '  dogs '  were  too  wary  for  me.  Toward  sunset  I  went  gunning 
for  a  troublesome  cayote,  or  prairie-wolf,  that  the  station-agent  said 
was  a  nuisance  he  wished  I  would  abate.  At  some  distance  away, 
I  saw  a  gray,  gaunt  animal  approaching;  but  it  looked  so  much  like 
a  clog  that  I  asked  an  old  Indian,  who  happened  to  be  passing,  what 
it  was.  '  Es  cayote  ?  '  queried  I.  '  Si,  Senor,'  said  the  Indian  ;  '  es 
muymalo.'  At  that,  I  '  up  and  fired ;  '  and  the  animal  dropped,  howl- 
ing in  its  tracks.     As  it  lay  on  its  back,  kicking  its  last,  that  wretched 


WE  MEET  IN  MEXICO. 


23 


1  Lo  '  came  up  and  shook  his  finger  warningly,  saying,  '  No  es  cayote, 
es  perro,'  —  'It  is  n't  a  wolf,  it  s  a  dog,  and  belongs  to  somebody.' 
I  don't  know  to  this  day  whether  it  was  a  dog  or  a  cayote,  and  the 
agent  even  was  in  doubt ;  but  said,  anyway,  he  was  glad  I  had  shot  it. 
I  hired  a  horse  of  the  station-agent,  and  started  next  morning  for  the 
pueblo  of  Acoma,  some  twelve  miles  distant.  There  was  no  road, 
hardly  a  trail ;  and  this  was  crossed  by  tracks  innumerable,  so  it  was 
not  strange  that  I  missed  my  way.  A  straggling  Indian  set  me  right, 
and  some  six  or  eight  miles  out  I  saw  the  valley  I  was  seeking.  The 
only  life  along  the  trail  was  in  the  prairie-dog  villages,  with  their 
quaint  inhabitants,  each  head  of  a  household  sitting  bolt-upright  at 
the  entrance  to  his  hole.  Then  I  had  to  descend  a  very  steep  bluff, 
from  the  brink  of  which  the  view  was  grand  ;  a  long  and  narrow 
valley  lay  before  me,  completely  enclosed  within  steep-sided  hills. 
In  the  centre  of  this  green  and  level  plain  rose  a  congeries  of  great 
rocks  several  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  upon  the  level  summit  of 
the  largest  was  a  long  clay-colored  structure  (apparently  but  one), 
and  this  was  the  pueblo.  On  the  plain,  wandering  among  scant 
pasturage,  hundreds  of  burros,  cows,  goats,  and  sheep  grazed  quietly. 
The  burros,  I  found  on  near  approach,  were  in  excellent  condition,  — 
not  one  of  them  with  raw  or  bleeding  back,  as  would  invariably  be 
the  case  if  they  were  owned  by  Mexicans  or  Americans. 

"  Crossing  this  narrow  plain,  the  trail,  now  plainly  defined,  led  me 
between  two  great  groups  of  sandstone,  above  two  hundred  feet  in 
height,  and  then  among  others,  to  the  central  mesa.  I  never  saw 
such  an  assemblage  of  giants,  single  or  grouped,  standing  carelessly 
about,  like  petrified  Titans,  and  all  guarding  the  approach  to  Acoma. 

"  By  good  luck,  I  selected  the  right  approach,  apparently  the  only 
mule-trail,  which  wound  over  vast  sand-drifts  and  half-buried  ledges. 

"  There  were  two  other  trails,  I  later  learned,  but  available  only  for 
Indians  on  foot,  as  they  led  up  the  almost  perpendicular  sides  of  the 
cliffs,  and  by  footholds  cut  in  the  face  of  the  precipice. 


24 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


"  The  geologist  describes  this  mesa,  or  table-topped  cliff,  of  Acoma  as 
lying  at  an  altitude  above  the  sea  of  nearly  seventy-five  hundred 
feet.  It  is  an  extensive  polygonal  bluff  of  sandstone,  with  walls 
nearly  everywhere  vertical  or  overhanging,  from  two  hundred  to  two 

hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 
The  surface  of  the  mesa  con- 
sists of  about  thirty  acres  of 
denuded  rock.  There  are  no 
springs  in  the  immediate  rock, 
but  two  immense  reservoirs, 
of  natural  formation,  hold  the 
water  that  falls  from  heaven. 
The  mesa  stands  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  a  huge  basin, 
open  to  the  northeast  only,  four 
miles  wide  and  ten  long.  High 
and  almost  vertical  cliffs  sur- 
round it  on  all  sides.  Over  its 
surface  are  scattered  isolated 
rocks,  sandstone  pinnacles  and 
columns;  the  whole  looks  like  an  enchanted  valley. 

"  After  surmounting  the  sand-hills,  I  found  steps  cut  in  the  living 
rock,  up  which  I  led  my  horse  with  great  difficulty.  Great  shafts  of 
sandstone,  capped  with  grotesque  head-pieces  of  larger  blocks,  guard 
this  narrow  trail.  The  only  other  trails  are  the  ones  I  have  mentioned, 
with  footholds  cut  in  the  perpendicular  faces  of  the  cliffs ;  yet,  night 
and  morning,  long  files  of  Indian  girls  climbed  up  and  down  them, 
with  huge  water-jars  nicely  balanced  upon  their  heads. 

"  By  good  chance,  I  rode  directly  to  the  Gobernador,  who  received 
me  cordially,  and  invited  me  to  his  house.  The  storekeeper,  the  only 
Americano  (a  Jew,  by  the  way),  had  shut  up  shop  that  very  morning, 
and  vamosed,  passing  me   unobserved  on   the   road. 


ON    THE    SUMMIT. 


WE  MEET  /N  MEXICO.  25 

"  The  Governor  and  I  climbed  a  ladder  to  the  second  terrace,  entered 
a  low  doorway,  and  took  a  seat.  My  horse  was  promptly  unsaddled 
and  cared  for,  while  I  was  at  once  made  '  one  of  the  family.'  Some 
other  men  entered  later,  one  of  whom  said  to  me,  '  How-do,  John  ? 
All  light?' 

"  They  all  spoke  Spanish  ;  and  we  hobbled  along  quite  gracefully, 
speaking  a  bi-lingual  language  most  curious  to  hear.  All  at  once 
lighted  cigarettes ;  the  tobacco  and  corn-husks  being  placed  in  the 
middle  of  our  circle,  and  each  one  helping  himself. 

"  As  night  came  on,  the  pastoral  character  of  the  people  was  brought 
to  mind,  as  the  herds  of  goats  and  cows  were  driven  up  from  the  plain 
and  penned  at  the  base  of  the  cliff.  Beneath  the  beetling  rock,  the 
impending  cliff  high  over  them,  in  great  hollows  and  little  dens,  the 
goats  and  sheep  are  herded  for  the  night,  while  the  donkeys  (more 
valuable)  are  driven  to  the  summit  of  the  mesa.  Coming  up  the  wind- 
ing path  over  the  sand-dunes,  you  see  rude  carts  and  wooden  ploughs 
and  other  farming  implements  stowed  carefully  away  in  hollows  of 
the  rock. 

"  They  take  life  easily,  these  Pueblo  people,  yet  they  are  measurably 
industrious.  During  the  day,  at  intervals,  a  crier  went  about  shouting 
for  many  minutes  at  a  time,  warning  the  men  to  work,  to  meals,  and 
to  retire. 

"  At  night  I  was  taken  around  to  several  houses,  by  my  friend  who 
spoke  English,  Jose  Josecito,  or  the  Little  Josey,  who  was  the  only  one 
of  them  all  who  demanded  remuneration  for  his  services.  His  entire 
stock  of  English  consisted  in  salutations,  and  the  phrase,  '  Gib  me 
halluf  dollah  ! '  the  meaning  of  which  he  knew  full  well. 

"  In  one  of  the  adobe  dwellings,  where  the  fire  danced  merrily  on  the 
hearth,  and  the  firelight  gleamed  cheerily  on  the  walls,  I  was  treated 
to  a  nice,  warm  supper.  The  buildings  on  this  mesa  are  in  three  long 
rows,  containing  ten  laro;e  communal  houses,  built  of  rubble-stone  and 
adobe,  and  with  a  population,  all  told,  of  about  one  thousand.     The 


26  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 

back  side,  or  higher  part,  of  the  first  row  is  perpendicular,  rising  sheer 
from  the  summit  platform  of  the  cliff,  a  continuation  of  its  face  and 
fronting  toward  the  north.  The  open,  or  terraced,  part  faces  south. 
Narrow  streets  run  between  the  rows,  and  narrower  alleys  cut  the 
blocks  themselves.  Most  of  the  blocks  are  three  stories  in  height,  the 
roof  of  each  story  forming  a  platform  in  front  of  the  one  above,  and 
reached  by  rude  and  strong  ladders. 

"  Sitting  on  the  outermost  angles  of  the  fortress  are  single  sentinels, 
motionless,  wrapped  in  their  blankets.  Through  the  morning  mist 
rises  theshape  of  the  'enchanted  mesa'  [la  Mesa  Encantada),  which 
frowns  at  Acoma,  a  mile  away.  It  is  a  perpetual  mystery,  a  siren 
without  song,  tempting  the  Pueblos  to  death.  No  one  has  looked 
upon  its  summit  and  returned  to  describe  it.  It  rises  four  hundred 
feet  above  the  valley,  with  perpendicular  walls,  its  summit  platform 
inaccessible.  Yet  the  dwellers  at  Acoma  tell  of  three  young  men  of 
their  tribe  who  were  tempted  to  scale  the  cliffs,  but  who  were  unable 
to  descend  again,  and  perished  there  of  hunger,  their  own  beloved 
pueblo  and  their  kinsfolk  within  their  range  of  vision. 

"  A  most  sociable  style  of  living  these  Pueblos  have,  where  every- 
body is  welcome  to  the  house  of  everybody  else,  and  one  may  climb 
from  room  to  room  of  every  block. 

"  At  about  nine  o'clock  I  returned  to  my  headquarters,  the  casa  of 
the  Governor,  and  found  the  entire  family  stretched  out  on  the  plat- 
form in  front  of  the  doorway.  They  saluted  me,  and  observing  that  I 
must  be  very  tired,  gave  a  boy  some  sheep-skins  and  blankets,  and  told 
him  to  spread  them  for  me  on  the  roof-top,  a  story  higher  up.  Then 
I  climbed  to  my  aerial  bedchamber  and  '  tumbled  in,'  for  I  was  tired 
and  very  sleepy.  My  bed  was  a  sheep-skin,  my  covering  a  coarse 
blanket,  my  canopy  the  star-lit  sky.  I  had  the  terrace  all  to  myself, 
though  in  the  morning  I  was  awakened  by  a  subdued  chattering,  and 
opening  my  eyes,  saw  a  group  of  men,  women,  and  children  regarding 
me  attentively,  but  who  immediately  looked  away,  seeing  that  I  was 


WE   MEET  IN  MEXICO.  29 

awake.  I  found,  on  rising,  that  if  I  hacj  rolled  over  many  times,  or  had 
walked  in  my  sleep,  I  should  have  fallen  near  three  hundred  feet,  quite 
to  the  base  of  the  cliff ;  and  I  do  not  to  this  day  understand  why  the 
Indians  assigned  me  to  sleep  in  such  a  precarious  place.  Perhaps  they 
were  wondering  that  I  had  n't  rolled  over  the  precipice,  when  I  awoke 
and  found  them  chattering  around  me. 

"  Finally  all  Acoma  was  astir,  and  in  the  courts  below  an  unusual 
commotion.  I  was  summoned  down  to  breakfast  with  the  Governor. 
Then  I  was  informed  that  about  thirty  of  the  people  were  going  to  the 
station  with  me,  —  that  they  had  taken  my  casual  mention  of  the  gather- 
ing of  Indians  at  Santa  Fe  as  an  invitation,  which  they  had  accepted  ! 
I  was  struck  aghast.  How  could  I  provide  for  the  transportation  of 
a  horde  of  Indians  over  one  hundred  miles  ? 

"  During  all  the  morning  I  was  pondering  this  question,  and  my  state 
of  mind  was  not  serene.  But  we  left  the  pueblo  at  about  ten  o'clock, 
myself  and  twenty-four  Indians.  We  filed  down  the  cliffs,  a  pictur- 
esque cavalcade,  all  happy  and  excited,  save  myself.  As  we  went 
along,  I  noticed  anxious  glances  cast  at  my  gaunt  gray  steed  ;  so  I 
1  did  the  dutiful  '  by  inviting  the  prettiest  of  the  Indian  girls  to  mount  be- 
hind me.  This  she  did,  after  a  little  cov  hesitation,  taking  a  running 
leap,  and  landing  astride.  Her  legs  were  bare;  and,  though  shapely, 
her  feet  stuck  out  on  each  side  of  me  in  a  manner  decidedly  ludicrous. 
I  said  she  was  the  prettiest  of  the  lot,  but  that  is  speaking  relatively. 
She  was  plump  and  smooth-skinned,  with  that  velvety  smoothness 
peculiar  to  Indians  and  other  thick-skinned  peoples.  Her  eyes  were 
black,  of  course,  her  mouth  red-lipped,  her  hands  and  feet  small,  her 
bosom  full,  and  her  waist  supple  and  slender.  Half  close  your  eyes 
and  hold  on  to  your  nose,  and  perhaps  she  might  appear  tolerable. 

"  I  was  mounted  double,  and  so  was  the  whole  troop,  some  even 
treble,  the  little  jackasses  grunting  under  their  loads  of  humanity.  As 
we  reached  the  cliffs,  the  girls  and  women  secured  some  white  clay, 
which  they  masticated,  and  smeared  their  hands  and  faces.     My  own 


3<D  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 

particular  maiden  smeared  her  hands  and  arms ;  but  her  face  was  a 
fiery  red,  most  beautiful  to  see.  She  was  at  first  quite  shy,  perhaps 
appreciating  the  delicacy  of  her  position  astride  a  horse,  behind  a 
white  man  to  whom  she  had  had  no  formal  introduction,  for  our  saluta- 
tions had  been  brief.  I  had  merely  halted  by  her  side,  jerked  my 
thumb  behind  me,  and  said,  '  How  ?  '  then  '  Montar  usted  ? '  that  being 
the  nearest  approach  I  could  make  to  '  get  up  behind,'  in  Spanish.' 

"Her  sweet  lips  murmured  'How!'  She  drew  the  back  of  her 
hand  across  her  nose  (for  this  unsophisticated  maiden  scorned  a  hand- 
kerchief), hesitated  a  moment,  and  the  next  had  straddled  my  steed. 
Thus,  you  see,  it  was  quite  natural  she  should  at  first  appear  diffident; 
but  as  time  wore  on  (as  time  will),  she  became  accustomed  to  her  sur- 
roundings, and  dropped  her  dainty  hands  from  my  shoulders  to  my 
thighs,  leaving  a  white  streak  wherever  she  touched  me.  Now  and 
then,  in  the  amblings  of  my  horse,  her  velvety  cheek  caressed  my  ear, 
leaving  a  red  mark ;  or  her  nose  scraped  the  back  of  my  neck,  leaving 
a  bright  vermilion.  She  was  a  girl  of  infinite  variety  —  of  color  ;  and 
when  we  parted  company  the  back  of  my  coat  was  adorned  with  a 
vermilion  spot  as  big  as  a  porous  plaster,  and  my  shoulders  with 
white  epaulets.  We  parted  with  regret,  —  at  least,  I  did,  —  for  it 
was  a  novel  experience,  and   I  decidedly  enjoyed  it. 

"  I  had  in  my  canteen  some  sort  of  a  pleasant  drink  with  which  to 
refresh  my  inner  self,  and  this  she  insisted  on  sharing  with  me  ;  other- 
wise our  journey  would  have  been  without  an  incident  to  mar  it.  As 
we  approached  the  railroad,  some  section-hands  espied  me,  and  greeted 
us  with  such  a  shout  that  my  little  gazelle  slipped  off  quietly  over  the 
horse's  tail,  and  sneaked  into  the  bush  to  still  her  agitated  heart  and 
hide  her  blushes.  Thus  we  parted,  without  a  farewell,  my  rainbow- 
hued  damsel  and  myself ;  and  the  last  I  saw  of  her  was  her  sweet  face 
shining  through  a  bush,  like  the  red  sun  of  morning  through  a  bank 
of  valley  mist." 

"  Well,"  interrupted  the  Doctor,  "  let  her  shine  on  ;  perhaps  some- 


WE  MEET  IN  MEXICO.  3 1 

body  has  mistaken  her  for  a  glow-worm  before  this  time,  and  has  added 
her  to  an  entomological  collection.  I  suppose  you  got  away  safely; 
your  presence  here  vouches  for  that;  and  the  continuation  of  your 
story  may  be  indefinitely  postponed.  Our  first  business  now  is  to  find 
the  Professor.  You  have  n't  seen  him  yet,  of  course,  or  you  would 
have  mentioned  it.  I  am  willing  to  wager  a  hat  that  he  's  mooning 
around  some  miserable  Aztec  ruin,  and  that  he  has  spent  all  his 
money  for  useless  antiquarian  rubbish.  Come,  now,  let  us  hunt  him 
up,  before  the  police  find  him  and  run  him  into  the  calaboose." 


CHAPTER   II. 

A   MAN-HUNT    IN    THE    AZTEC     CAPITAL. 

The  Professor  in  Hiding.  —  A  Secret  to  be  shared  with  the  Reader.  —  Climb- 
ing up  Popocatepetl.  —  The  Doctor's  Adventure.  —  Taking  Care  of  a  Tender- 
foot.—  A  New  Cure  for  Drunkenness. —  Refusing  to  set  up  the  Drinks. — 
Monterey  and  Buena  Vista.  —  Padre  Flores's  Bonanza.  — Millions  of  Silver 
Mush.  —  The  Californian  and  the  English  Tourists. 


HAT  was  a  weary  week  we  had,  the  Doctor  and  I, 
hunting  the  Professor  out  of  his  hiding-place  in  the 
city  of  Mexico.  We  knew  he  was  somewhere  in 
the  city,  for  I  had  bought  a  ticket  for  him  nearly 
a  month  previous,  and  had  turned  his  nose  in  this 
direction.  In  fact,  I  had  seen  him  aboard  the 
steamer  at  New  York,  and  had  arranged  for  his  every  comfort. 
Those  of  my  readers  who  have  made  our  acquaintance  in  other  books 
of  the  "  Knockabout "  series  are  already  acquainted  with  the  Profes- 
sor's peculiarities.  They  know  him  for  a  student  and  an  antiquarian, 
with  a  vast  fund  of  information  on  special  topics,  but  destitute  of  that 
valuable  commodity,  common-sense,  to  a  great  degree.  As  his  firm 
friend  for  many  years,  and  as  one  who  could  appreciate  his  real  worth, 
I  have  always  sought  to  shield  him  from  the  hardships  of  the  world, 
and  to  enable  him  to  pursue  his  special  line  of  investigation  without 
interruption.  I  will  confess  he  has  often  tried  my  patience  to  its  ut- 
most limits;  and  his  failure  to  put  in  an  appearance  at  our  rendezvous 
at  the  appointed  time  was  the  last  straw  necessary  to  break  the  back 


A    MAN-HUNT  IN  THE  AZTEC   CAPITAL. 


35 


of  my  indulgence.  I  should  have  abandoned  the  search  altogether, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  this  time  the  recreant  Professor  was 
absolutely  essential  to  the  success  of  the  scheme  that  had  brought  the 
Doctor  and  myself  to  Mexico.  What  that  scheme  was,  will  be  re- 
lated in  due  course,  perhaps  in  the  next  chapter.  Meanwhile  the 
Doctor  and  I  hired  rooms  on  the  Colle  del  Espiritu  Santo,  where  we 
had  a  great  roof-top  all  to  ourselves,  and  possessed  our  souls  in  pa- 
tience. We  projected  trips  to  the  various  points  of  interest  around 
the  valley,  and  even  climbed  to  the  peak  of  Popocatepetl,  the  great 
volcano,  three  miles  high,  that  keeps  watch  and  ward  over  the 
table-land  of  Mexico.  It  is  the  highest  volcano  on  the  North 
American  Continent,  and  not  many  Americans  have  climbed  it.  It 
was  a  great  feat,  however,  and  we  were  rather  tired  for  several  days 
after.  The  Doctor  parodied  that  celebrated  saying  about  the  doings 
of  Peter  Piper,  or,  rather,  he  made  an  addition  to  it,  as  follows: 
"  Peter  Piper  picked  a  peck  of  pickled  peppers  on  the  peak  of 
Popocatepetl.  Where 's  the  peck  of  pickled  peppers  Peter  Piper 
picked  upon  the  peak  of  Popocatepetl?"  and  he  challenged  any 
resident  of  the  city  to  repeat  it  rapidly  without  tripping.  He  said  he 
was  going  to  get  his  amendment  copyrighted ;  but  I  don't  think  he 
went  that  far  with  his  nonsense,  and  has  probably  forgotten  it  loner 
since. 

I  have  narrated  my  own  experience  en  route  to  Mexico  ;  but  it 
seemed  that  the  Doctor  likewise  had  a  little  adventure,  which  he 
related  to  me  one  evening  as  we  were  sitting  on  the  parapet  of  the 
azotea,  or  roof-top. 

"  It  was  at  Piedras,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  I  thought  I  would  stop  off 
for  a  night  for  a  rest.  The  train  was  due  at  midnight,  but  was  twenty 
minutes  late;  and  it  hardly  pulled  into  the  station  before  it  was  off 
again,  leaving  a  stream  of  sparks  to  mark  its  trail  through  the 
darkness.  I  was  the  only  passenger  left  at  Piedras ;  and  when  I 
reached   the  station   I  found   there  was  nobody  there  but  the  sleepy 


36  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

telegraph-operator.  Of  this  operator,  who  was  also  ticket-agent,  baggage- 
smasher,  and  switch-tender,  I  inquired  the  way  to  the  nearest  hotel. 

"  '  Hotel !  '  he  repeated,  in  apparent  surprise,  '  there  ain't  no  such 
affair  in  this  here  place.  Piedras  ain't  reached  that  level  yit. 
There  's  a  shanty  there,  over  yander,  where  they  put  up  miners  and 
prospecters  sometimes ;  but  it 's  a  pretty  tough  place  for  a  tenderfoot. 
Here  's  the  proprietor,  though ;  he  '11  take  care  of  you.  Here,  Bob, 
here  's  a  tenderfoot   wants  lodgin'.' 

" '  All  right,'  said  a  rough-looking  individual,  who  lounged  up  on 
the  platform  with  a  lantern  in  his  hand;  'jest  foller  me,  Mister,  an' 
I  '11  pervide  fer  yer.' 

"  Accepting  the  situation,  although  I  did  n't  like  the  looks  of  it,  I 
followed  my  guide  into  a  rough  shanty  of  pine  boards.  The  whole 
lower  floor  was  occupied  as  a  bar-room,  in  which,  even  at  that  late 
hour,  half-a-dozen  men  sat  smoking  and  drinking.  They  looked  up 
inquiringly  as  we  entered,  but  did  n't  manifest  any  surprise  ;  and  four 
of  them  resumed  their  card-playing,  while  two  others  shuffled  up  to 
the  bar,  and  asked  me  if  I  did  n't  want  horses  next  day  or  the  day 
after, —  for  it  was  pretty  well  understood  in  that  embryo  town  that 
nobody  from  the  outside  world  ever  lingered  longer  than  he  had  to. 
I  thought  I  mio-ht  want  horses  next  morning;  but  I  didn't  want  to 
bargain  with  those  red-nosed  and  shaggy-haired  applicants  in  their 
then  doubtful  condition ;  so  I  turned  to  the  '  hotel  '-keeper  with  a 
request  to   be  shown   to   my   room. 

" '  Shown  ter  yer  room  ! '  leered  one  of  the  red-eyed  brutes  in  my 
face ;  '  there  ain't  much  showin'  about  it.  Ye  jest  climb  that  ther' 
ladder,  an'  crawl  keerfully  over  the  seven  sleepers  stretched  out  on 
the   boards,   an'   take   the  fust  corner   with   a  sheet  in   front   of  it.' 

"  '  Oh,  shet  up,  Jake  Thomas  !  '  growled  the  landlord  ;  '  this  man  's 
here  fer  a  rest,  an'  s'  long  's  he  's  under  my  roof,  he  's  got  to  be  treated 
squar',  an'  don't  yer  forgit  it ! 

"  '  Well,  he  might  set  up  the  drinks  fer  the  crowd,'  whined  the 
red-eved  man  ;  'ther'  ain't  nothin' mean  about  that,  is  ther'?' 


>■ 


JJ'JtiirJ.r  i-i,,  ,'iLfc  •--■    , 


A    MAN-HUNT  IN  THE  AZTEC   CAPITAL. 


39 


'"Look  here,  Jake;  this  ere 's  "Travellers'  Rest,"  beds  at  low 
figgers,  an'  drinks  fer  them  that  pays  fer  'em.  Ef  it 's  ag'in  this 
gen'leman's  principles  to  drink,  thar'  ain't  nobody  goin'  ter  fo'ce  him 
to.  Nor  he  ain't  goin'  ter  set  up  for  the  crowd,  either,  'less  he 
wants  ter  do  it.' 

"  '  I  \*e  no  objection  to  treating,'  said  I,  looking  the  red-eyed  man 
square  in  the  face  ;  '  but  I  don't  believe  in  intoxicants,  and  I  won't 
help  their  sale.  But  if  the  gentlemen  present  will  take  a  good  warm 
supper  with  me,  with  tea  or  coffee,  I  invite  them  all.' 

" '  Wall,  now,  thet  's  the  talk.  He  's  a  brick  ;  I  11  fight  the  man  thet 
says  he  ain't.  He  s  got  principles,  an'  he  sticks  to  'em,'  were  some 
of  the  exclamations  that  greeted  me.  They  all  came  up  and  shook 
hands  with  me,  and  after  a"  while  we  sat  down  to  a  good  square 
meal.  I  tell  you,  my  boy,  I  did  enjoy  that  supper ;  not  only  because 
I  was  hungry  myself,  but  because  I  felt  I  was  doing  good  temperance 
work  at  the  same  time.  All  those  men  were  hungry  ;  they  had  half 
starved  themselves  to  buy  drink,  and  they  enjoyed  the  meal  as  much 
as  I  did.  It  's  the  true  way,  I  believe,  to  put  an  end  to  the  rum- 
shops  ;  to  furnish  the  drunkards  with  good  food  and  light  drinks  at 
night,  when  they  are  seeking  stimulants,  which  half  the  time  are 
craved  because  their  bodies  are  weak.  The  saying  that  the  way  to 
a  man's  heart  is  through  his  stomach  is  more  nearly  true  than  most 
people  believe  ;  and  when  the  temperance  people  have  elevated  this 
into  an  axiom,  they  will  have  accomplished  half  their  work.  Those 
men  were  my  friends,  all  of  them  ;  and  as  soon  as  I  had  crawled  up 
the  ladder  to  my  quarters  they  all  'turned  in'  themselves,  and  so  far 
as  they  were  concerned  the  night  was  quiet. 

"  But,  unfortunately,  these  were  n't  the  only  ruffians  in  Piedras. 
In  the  room  with  me  was  a  drunken  man  who  seemed  suffering  from 
tremens,  who  flapped  his  arms  wildly  about,  knocking  the  bottle 
that  served  as  a  candlestick  off  the  table,  and  who  was  cursing  and 
singing  all  night  long.  I  lay  down  on  the  board  called  my  bed,  with 
my  clothes  on,  and  tried  to  sleep. 


40 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 


"  Soon  I  heard  the  report  of  a  pistol  ;  then  another  and  another, 
in  rapid  succession;  and  a  bullet  came  through  the  side  of  the  house, 
between  me  and  the  drunken  man,  and  lodged  in  a  beam.  I  realized 
then  that  my  surroundings  were  n't  very  pleasant,  I  assure  you  ;  but 
I  could  n't  get  away  from  them,  so  I  pulled  my  revolver  out  of  my 
satchel,   placed  it  under   my   head,  and   tried   to  sleep.      More  pistol- 


BATTLE    OF    MONTEREY.    MEXICAN    WAR. 


shots,  shouting,  swearing,  and  a  great  commotion  outside,  kept  up 
for  two  hours  or  more  ;  then  all  was  quiet,  and  finally  I  fell  asleep. 
When  I  went  down  in  the  morning,  I  almost  dreaded  to  go  outside 
the  door,  fully  expecting  to  see  at  least  a  dozen  corpses  on  the 
ground.  I  ventured  to  ask  the  landlord  what  the  row  was  about, 
at  last ;  and  he  said,  — 


A    MAN-HUNT  IN  THE  AZTEC  CAPITAL. 


41 


"  '  What  row  ?  Oh,  yes  ;  the  little  poppin'  after  you  turned  in. 
Why,  a  couple  of  bull-punchers  came  in  from  the  ranch,  filled  up, 
an'  then  jest  locked  arms  an' 
went  araound  shootin'  at  ev- 
erybody an'  everything  gen- 
erally. There  they  be  now, 
sleepin'  peacefully  under  that 
fence.' 

"  '  And  nobody  hurt  ?  ' 
'"Hurt!    of    course    there 
ain't.    Thet  kind  of  cattle  can't 
hit    anything     when     they  're 
drunk.' 

"  I  kept  my  own  coun- 
sel, but  made  up  my  mind 
not  to  tax  the  hospitality 
of  the  '  Travellers'  Rest '  any 
more  that  night.  When  the 
train     rattled     out    again,     at 

midnight,  your  friend  the  Doctor  was  one  of  the  passengers,  bound 
for  the  city  of  Monterey." 

"  Were  there  no  other  adventures  by  the  way  ?  " 

"  No,  hardly  ;  but   I  visited  some  historic  places. 

Monterey    itself,    as    you    know,    was    an    important 

strategic    point    during    the     Mexican    war  ;     and     I 

j   visited     Buena     Vista,    where     Gen.     Zach.       Taylor 

7^>       gave  Santa  Anna  such  a  tremendous  thrashing.     But 

I  suppose  the  place  that  interested  me  most  was  the 

ancient  mining  district  of  Catorce.     It  was  discovered 

as   a    mining  district    a  little   over    a    hundred   years 

ago.     Among    the   settlers  attracted    by   the  fame  of    its    riches    was 

a  poor  priest,  the  Padre  Flores,  who  purchased  for  $700  a  mine  then 


GEN     ZACHAKY    TAYLOR. 


42 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


recently  '  denounced  '  near  the  town,   and  began   to   work  it.     After 
following  some  little  hilitos,  or  threads  of   silver,   at  about  sixty  feet 

\  beneath  the  surface,  he  ran  into  a  small 
boreda,  or  natural  chamber,  full  of  loose 
metalliferous  earth,  so  completely  im- 
H  pregnated  with  particles  of  silver  that  it 
p  was  bought  up  on  the  spot  at  the  price  of 
one  dollar  for  a  pound  of  ore.  Neither 
powder  nor  the  usual  implements  of  min- 
ing were  required  for  the  extraction  of  the 


THE   PLAZA    AND    LA    MITRA,    MONTEREY. 


earth,  which  was,  in   fact,  nothing   less   than  silver  mush,  which   the 
Padre  and  his  miners  scooped  out  by  the  bucketful. 

"  But  about  sixty   feet  farther  still   they  found   a   second   borcda, 
full  of   the    same    metalliferous    mush    in   yet    greater   quantity,   and 


A   MAN-HUNT  IN  THE  AZTEC  CAPITAL.  43 

which  the  miners  scooped  out  with  great  horn  spoons,  carrying  it  to 
the  surface  in  their  cos  tales,  or  miner's  sacks.  The  Padre's  bonanza 
commenced  in  17S1,  and  lasted  two  years,  during  which  period  he 
received  for  his  share  of  the  profits  $3,500,000.  This  was  besides 
the  shares  of  the  miners  and  speculators,  which  probably  raised  the 
total  amount  to  over  $6,000,000. 

"  Yes,  there  have  been  some  big  bonanzas  in  the  Mexican  mines, 
but  they  all  occurred  a  hundred  years  ago  and  more.  You  remember 
the  stories  told  us  of  the  silver-mines  of  Batopilas,  where  the  ore  was 
dug  out  almost  pure,  with  picks  and  bars ;  and  of  the  rich  yields  of 
Pachuca,  or  Regla,  where  a  poor  muleteer  made  so  many  millions  that 
he  became  Count  of  Regla,  and  when  his  children  were  baptized  the 
whole  procession  marched  from  house  to  church  over  a  pathway  of 
silver  bars." 

The  flowery  days  of  Mexico's  mines  are  past,  and  there  are  more 
fortunes  lost  than  made  in  the  working  of  them  now.  They  tell  you 
stories  that  remind  one  of  the  tales  they  tell,  or  are  said  to,  in  our 
Western  country.  Something  api'opos  I  found  in  a  paper,  the  other 
day,  which  aptly  hits  off  the  traits  of  some  of  our  English  visitors, — 
their  gullibility,  especially.     It  is  from  a  California  paper. 

As  last  Thursday's  west-bound  train  passed  Cape  Horn,  a  large  party  of 
Englishmen,  of  the  "  direct-from-Lunnon  "  variety,  crowded  out  on  the  platform 
and  loudly  expressed  their  dissatisfaction  at  the  scenery,  which  was  "  not  at  all 
up  to  the  guide-books,  you  know,  by  Jove  !  " 

As  they  returned  to  their  seats  to  enjoy  a  jolly  good  British  all-around  grum- 
ble, entirely  oblivious  of  the  indignant  glances  of  the  native  passengers,  a  meek- 
looking,  gentle-voiced  journalist  from  'Frisco  approached  from  the  other  end  of 
the  car,  and  volunteered  to  give  the  tourists  some  valuable  facts  concerning  the 
country.  In  an  ingenuous  and  plausible  way  he  answered  their  questions  in  a 
manner  that  reduced  our  critics  from  over  the  pond  to  a  condition  of  profound 
amazement,  not  to  say  awe. 

The  next  morning  the  journalist  was  informed  by  the  reporter  that  a  com- 
mittee of  gentlemen  wished  to  see  him  in  the  baggage-car.     As  he  entered  the 


44 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 


latter,  he  found  a  dozen  travellers,  all  natives  and  to  the  manner  born,  waiting 
to  receive  him,  hat  in  hand.     The  spokesman  advanced  and  said,  — 

"You  are  the  party  who  was  giving  those  Englishmen  in  the  rear  sleeper 
some  points  about  the  coast,  I  believe  ?  " 

"  I  am,  sir,"  said  the  quill-driver,  modestly. 


THE  CATHEDRAL,  MONTEREY. 


"  You  told  them,  I  understand,"  continued  the  chairman,  "  that  Mount 
Shasta  was  seventy-six  thousand  feet  high  ?  " 

"  The  same." 

"You  divulged  the  well-known  fact  that  trains  on  this  road  were  often  de- 
tained four  days  by  herds  of  buffalo,  that  they  frequently  have  to  use  a  Gatling 
gun  on  the  cow-catcher  to  prevent  the  locomotive  being  pushed  off  the  track  by 
the  grizzly  bears  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  You  further   acquainted    them   with    the    circumstance    that  the  Digger 


A    MAX-HUNT  IN  THE  AZTEC   CAPITAL.  45 

Indians  live  to  the  average  age  of  two  hundred  and  one,  and  that  the  rarefaction 
of  the  air  on  the  plains  is  such  that  an  ordinary  pin  looks  like  a  telegraph-pole 
at  the  distance  of  forty-two  miles  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  wedged  that  in,"  responded  the  newspaper  man. 

"  And  we  are  informed  that  they  all  made  a  memorandum  of  your  state- 
ment that  at  the  Palace  Hotel  on  an  average  two  waiters  per  clay  were  shot  by 
the  guests  for  bringing  cold  soup, —  eh  ?  " 

"  They  did." 

"  And,  finally,  we  believe  you  are  the  originator  of  that  beautiful  —  that 
b-e-a-u-tiful-er  —  fact  regarding  that  fallen  redwood-tree  up  at  Mariposa,  —  I 
mean  the  hollow  one  into  which  the  six-horse  stage  drives,  and  comes  out  of  a 
knot-hole  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  feet  farther  along." 

"  I  told  them  all  about  it." 

"  Just  so  !  just  so  !  "  said  the  committeeman,  grasping  the  patron's  hand,  and 
producing  a  well-filled  buckskin  bag  ;  "  and  I  am  instructed  by  this  committee  of 
your  fellow-countrymen  to  present  you  with  this  slight  token  of  our  apprecia- 
tion of  the  noble  manner  in  which  you  have  vindicated  the  honor  of  our  noble 
land." 

"Gentlemen,"  said  the  true  Californian,  much  affected,  "I  understand  your 
feelings  ;  and  although  I  blush  to  be  rewarded  for  simply  doing  my  duty,  I  ac- 
cept the  gift  as  a  sacred  trust  to  be  devoted  to  the  further  exaltation  of  our 
common  country." 

"  In  what  way?  "  asked  the  chairman,  earnestly. 

"  Why,  I  am  going  back  to  rope  those  fellows  into  a  game  of  studhorse 
poker."  And  as  he  left  the  car  they  gave  him  a  cheer  that  nearly  shook  the 
train  off  the  rails. 


CHAPTER  III. 

AN  AMERICAN  HERO  AND  SOME  MEXICAN  GODS. 

General  Grant's  Visit  to  Mexico. —Our  First  Glimpse  of  the  General. —A 
Banquet  to  Notables.  —  A  Railway  never  built.  —  Rambles  in  a  Museum.  — 
Little  Gods  and  Big  Ones. —  Aztec  Picture-writing.  —  How  the  Indians  kept 
their  Records.  —  Some  Aboriginal  Artists.  — We  make  a  Great  Discovery. — 
The  Man  in  the  Corner. 


HIS  was  not  our  first  visit  to  Mexico,  for  we  had  been 
here  ten  years  previously.  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
be  in  Mexico  during  the  third  visit  of  General  Grant, 
in  1 88 1,  and  the  additional  good  luck  to  attend  a  ban- 
quet given  in  his  honor. 
General  Grant's  first  visit  to  Mexico  was  in  1846  or  1847,  wnen  he 
was  plain  Lieutenant  Grant,  of  the  American  army  of  invasion,  and 
before  he  had  climbed  the  heights  of  fame;  his  second,  just  after  his 
famous  tour  round  the  world ;  and  his  third,  in  the  interests  of  some 
railroad  affairs. 

It  is  not  my  ambition  to  shine  by  reflected  light,  nor  to  shelter 
myself  in  the  shadow  of  a  great  man  ;  but  although  it  may  seem  a 
work  of  supererogation  to  add  to  the  fast  accumulating  reminiscences 
of  General  Grant,  the  few  that  I  now  recall  seem  to  me  not  to  have 
been  alreadv  given.  For  Mexico  our  great  chieftain  seemed  ever  to 
have  a  peculiar  liking,  even  affection.  This  may  have  been  owing 
to  the  fact  that  he  there  won  his  first  brevet  and  fought  his  first 
campaign,  or  it  may  have  been  owing  to  the   reception  accorded   the 


AN  AMERICAN  HERO  AND  SOME  MEXICAN  GODS. 


49 


American  soldier  by  the  common  people  of  Mexico,  who  welcomed 
him  as  a  savior  rather  than  as  a  foe.  For  at  the  time  of  the 
American  invasion  ("  el  invasion  Norte-Americano  ")  Mexico  was  dis- 
tracted by  the  sanguinary  feuds  of  its  own  children,  its  various 
political  leaders  issuing  pronunciamentos  in  every  direction,  and 
each  party  hesitated  not  to  plunder  the  non-combatants.  .  The  ar- 
rival of  the  foreign  foe  generally  put  a  stop  to  plunder  and  guerilla 
warfare,  individuals  and  property  were  respected,  and  the  Mexican 
citizens  looked  forward  with  apprehension  to  the  time  when  the  pro- 
tecting arm  of  Winfield  Scott  should  be  withdrawn.  Respect  and 
admiration  followed  the  American  officer,  of  what- 
ever rank,  wherever  he  went,  and  the  first  families 
of  the  towns  in  which  they  were  quartered  united 
to  do  them  honor.  The  Mexican  women,  whose 
hearts  were  ever  on  the  side  of  justice,  and  could 
not  but  distinguish  between  Yankee  valor  and 
fairness  and  the  pusillanimity  of  their  own 
countrymen,  were  fairly  captivated  by  los  grin- 
gos, and  showed  them  every  attention  the  cus- 
toms of  their  country  would  permit.  To  one  gen.  winfield  scott. 
acquainted  with  the   Mexicans — the  sehors  and 

sefioritas,  gentle  of  speech  and  nature,  mild  and  loving — Whittier's 
eulogy  in  "  The  Angels  of  Buena  Vista"  will  not  seem  unmerited:  — 

"  But  the  noble  Mexic  women  still  their  holy  task  pursued, 
Through  that  long  dark  night  of  sorrow,  worn  and  faint  and  lacking  food ; 
Over  weak  and  suffering  brothers,  with  a  tender  care  thev  hung, 
And  the  dying  freemen  blessed  them  in  a  strange  and  Northern  tongue." 

My  first  glimpse  of  Grant  was  in  1S74.  On  my  way  home  from 
Florida  I  stopped  off  at  Washington.  I  had  been  for  months  hunt- 
ing in  the  swamps  of  South  Florida  ;  and  my  hair,  which  I  had  allowed 
to  grow  long  to  protect  my  neck  from  mosquitoes,  hung  upon  my 
shoulders  ;  while  the  tan  of  a  six  months'  residence  in  the  "  land  of 


5o 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


flowers"  gave  me  nearly  the  color  of  an  Indian.  In  Jacksonville  I  had 
purchased  a  palmetto  hat,  then  first  being  manufactured,  and  known 
as  "  palfneeters.''  This  I  wore  on  my  first  visit  to  the  White  House, 
which  I  entered  with  the  free  and  independent  air  of  a  backwoods- 
man who  was  not  to  be  trammelled  by  the  conventionalities  of  city  life. 

I    had    previously  been    admonished 
to   "  shoot  that   hat,11    by  various  citi- 
zens of  the  capital,   as   I    meandered 
toward    the   White    House,   but    had 
disregarded    their    gratuitous  advice, 
and   entered    its    sacred  portal,  "  pal- 
meeter  "  in  hand.      The  door- 
keeper   inquired    my    business, 
and   I  told  him   1  merely 
wished     to    see    General 
Grant ;   and    he,   with    ill- 
disguised   suspicion   writ- 
ten   on   his    countenance, 
o-ave  me  a  seat,  with  the 
information  that  the  Pres- 
ident    would    soon     pass 
through     the    room.       It 
was   not    long    before    he 
appeared,      in      company 
with   Mrs.  Grant  and  his 


A    MEXICAN    FOUNTAIN. 


daughter  Nellie,  then  a 
very  pretty  and  graceful  girl.  Seeing  me  sitting  by  the  window,  with 
my  long  hair  and  bronzed  face,  giving  me  somewhat  the  appearance 
of  an  unpacificated  rebel,  the  President  beckoned  to  an  attendant,  and, 
with  a  glance  in  my  direction,  whispered  in  his  ear.  I,  of  course, 
did  not  know  what  he  said,  but  with  the  consciousness  of  one  who 
yet  had  the  moss  of  the  woods  still  on  his  shoulders,   I  felt  that  his 


AN  AMERICAN  HERO  AND  SOME  MEXICAN  GODS.  53 

whispering  referred  to  me.  The  person  addressed  nodded,  and  then 
fell  back  near  me  ;  while  the  Grant  family  proceeded  to  their  carriage, 
in  waiting  at  the  door.  I  was  impressed  with  the  firm  bearing  and 
self-contained  presence  of  the  President;  but  a  little  incident  at  the 
carriage  door  left  an  indelible  impression.  Mrs.  Grant  had  entered, 
and  Nellie  was  about  to  follow,  when  the  President  touched  her  gently 
on  the  arm.  She  drew  back  apologetically,  and  gave  way  to  a  young 
lady  with  them,  who,  from  her  plain  dress,  I  assumed  to  be  a  seam- 
stress or  some  one  employed  by  them,  whom  they  were  taking  to  her 
home.  The  unconscious  performance  of  this  lesson  in  politeness  was 
with  such  quiet  dignity  that  it  seemed  characteristic,  and  gave  to  the 
long-haired  stranger  sitting  in  the  window  an  elevated  opinion  of 
the  hero   of  Appomattox. 

To  return  to  Mexico.  It  was  seven  years  later,  in  1SS1,  that  I 
next  saw  the  General's  face.  It  was  his  third  visit,  and  last.  In 
the  previous  visit  he  had,  unfortunately  for  himself,  become  inter- 
ested in  the  development  of  Mexico,  and  had  enlisted  his  name 
in  behalf  of  a  railroad  to  be  projected  into  Southern  Mexico,  in  ex- 
tension of  the  lines  from  the  North,  which  terminated  at  the  capital. 
Senor  Romero,  an  ardent,  patriotic  son  of  Mexico,  was  the  chief  pro- 
moter of  the  scheme.  At  least,  he  it  was  who  seemed  to  have 
secured  the  confidence  of  Grant,  and,  on  whose  recommendation, 
probably,  the  General  had  embarked.  It  was  currently  reported  about 
town  that  a  great  expedition  was  to  be  fitted  out  to  explore  the  line 
of  the  proposed  railway,  and  unusual  facilities  were  to  be  afforded  the 
General  for  an  examination  of  the  country.  As  this  region  was  almost 
a  terra  incognita  to  Americans,  I,  for  one,  was  wildly  anxious  to  ac- 
company the  expedition,  and  hence  sought  an  introduction  to  the 
great  man,  whose  name  figured  so  prominently  as  promoter  of  the 
scheme.  This  was  accomplished  through  the  kindness  of  my  good 
friend,  General  Strother,  Consul-General  at  Mexico,  whose  literary  and 
artistic    nom   de  guerre   of  "  Porte  Crayon "  made  him  so  famous  a 


54 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 


quarter  of  a  century  ago.  With  this  genial  and  venerable  man,  who 
had  fought  under  Grant  in  the  Union  army,  I  sought  his  apartments 
at    the  hotel.       The   General    was    not    in  when    we    called,    but    we 

lingered  for  a  few  minutes'  chat  with  Mrs. 
Grant  and  her  sprightly  niece,  —  whose  charms 
had  turned  the  heads  of  all  the  young  Mexi- 
cans of  the  city,  —  and  before  we  left  the 
^  hero  appeared.  It  was 
Pg^  ^^!^M%  soon  explained  that  I 
wished  to  accompany  his 
party  into  the  South,  in 
order  to  obtain  an  accu- 
rate description  of  the 
country  to  be  traversed 
by  his  road ;  but  he,  in 
a  few  well-chosen  words, 
informed  us  that  it  was 
doubtful  if  he  went  on 
such  an  expedition  at  all. 
We  later  learned  that 
this  projected  explora- 
tion had  originated  in 
the  minds  of  the  rail- 
way speculators  merely,  and  was  wholly  gratuitous,  so  far  as  General 
Grant  was  concerned.  In  fact,  he  never  viewed  a  single  mile  of  that 
road,  or  of  the  region  which  it  was  to  pass  through,  except  such  por- 
tion as  might  have  been  seen  at  o^  near  the  city  of  Puebla,  which  it 
was  to  enter.  After  a  pleasant  chat  we  left  the  apartment.  I  had  then 
but  just  returned  from  an  ascent  of  the  volcano  Popocatepetl,  which 
was  considered  by  my  fellow-Americans  something  of  a  feat,  and  our 
conversation  naturally  turned  upon  that  subject.  The  General  re- 
marked that    he  in    1S47  had  climbed  the  volcano;  but  Mrs.  Grant 


STREET   SCENE   IN   MEXICO. 


AN  AMERICAN  HERO  AND   SOME  MEXICAN  GODS.  57 

laughingly  remarked  that  he  did  not  reach  the  summit,  as  the  air  had 
been  too  thin  for  him.  The  General  did  not  insist  that  he  had 
accomplished  the  undertaking,  but  turned  the  conversation  by  re- 
marking that  the  best  view  of  the  volcano,  as  he  remembered  it 
was  to  be  obtained  from  the  crest  of  the  Sacro  Monte,  a  hill  in 
Amecameca,  dedicated  to  sacred  uses,  adorned  with  chapels  and 
shrines. 

It  was  not  long  after  this  meeting  that  I  again  met  the  General  at 
a  banquet  given  him  by  the  projectors  of  a  railroad  across  Mexico 
called  the  "  Topolobampo-Pacifico-Transcontinental  Railway,"  which 
at  that  time  had  not  laid  rails  enough  to  cover  the  length  of  its  name. 
And  I  might,  remark,  in  passing,  that  it  has  not  more  than  doubled 
that  distance  yet,  even  at  this  date,  ten  years  subsequent  to  the  ban- 
quet, which  took  place  in  the  Tivoli  de  San  Cosme,  in  the  city's  sub- 
urb. The  Tivoli  is  a  sort  of  Mexican  beer  garden,  but  with  a  dining- 
hall  attached,  in  which  parties  can  dine  or  lunch  other  than  al  fresco. 
In  the  large  hall,  which  was  tastefully  decorated  for  the  occasion,  tables 
were  spread  for  a  large  party.  Besides  the  General  and  his  party,  — 
which  included  his  wife  and  niece,  and  one  of  his  sons  and  his  wife,  — 
there  were  invited  all  of  the  prominent  Americans  of  the  city,  as  well 
as  the  leading  Mexicans.  The  menu  was  a  mixture  of  French  and 
Spanish,  both  in  names  and  dishes,  and  which  I  still  retain  as  a 
souvenir  of  that  occasion,  comprised  nearly  everything  desirable  to  be 
obtained  in  Mexico,  with  the  choicest  liquors  of  two  continents.  The 
after-dinner  speeches  were  excellent,  and  took  their  tenor  from  the 
few  remarks  of  the  General,  who,  having  been  introduced  by  the  mas- 
ter of  ceremonies,  a  young  and  enterprising  Corko-Bostonian,  who 
regulated  the  municipal  affairs  of  Boston,  but  was  now  absent  on  sick- 
leave,  said  that  he  had  no  doubt  the  enterprise  was  one  likely  to  prove 
beneficial  to  Mexico  and  the  world  at  large,  etc.,  and  sat  down  amid 
great  applause.  As  he  concluded  his  speech,  he  nodded  to  the  rail- 
road man  at  the  other  end  of  the  table,  signifying  that  he  had  (as  he 


58  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

looked  at  it)  done  all  that  was  expected  of  him  ;  and  that  man  immedi- 
ately arose  and  spoke.  Carried  away  by  the  prospective  success  of  the 
scheme,  this  particular  railroad-man  had  been  conjuring  with  the 
bedidos  nacionales  —  or,  in  other  words,  mixed  drinks  —  of  Mexico, 
and  had  gazed  frequently  at  the  wine  when  it  was  red  in  the  cup.  As 
a  consequence,  he  got  mixed  up  on  the  topography  and  geographical 
names  of  the  country  ;  and  when  he  came  to  speak  of  the  title  of 
the  particular  enterprise  he  was  concerned  in,  he  forgot  it  entirely. 
After  mentioning  that  the  name  of  Grant  was  already  pretty  bright, 
through  the  achievements  of  its  illustrious  owner,  he  said  that  it 
would  derive  additional  lustre  from  its  connection  with  this  <A- 
gantic  enterprise,  the  Pacifico-Popocatepetl  railroad.  He  then  sat 
down,  evidently  in  doubt  whether  he  had  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion or  forgotten  something  of  importance.  His  friends  rallied 
to  retrieve  the  error ;  but  the  best  speech  of  the  occasion  was 
made  by  the  agent  of  a  rival  enterprise,  controlled  by  the  great 
Californians. 

A  sfreat  deal  has  been  said  about  the  convivial  habits  of  General 
Grant,  and  more  about  his  habitual  use  of  intoxicants.  It  has  now 
been  settled  forever  that  he  was  one  of  the  most  temperate  of  men, 
both  in  eating  and  drinking  ;  but  at  that  time  many  of  us  were  in 
doubt,  and  I  watched  him  with  curiosity  that  day  at  the  feast.  I 
noted  that  he  ate  very  sparingly,  and  that  his  wine-glass  remained 
inverted  throughout  the  afternoon,  and  that  he  declined  several 
offers  of  liquor  as  it  was  passed  round.  But  the  boys,  engineers 
principally,  then  numerous  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  used  to  assert  that 
he  indulged  now  and  then  in  the  milder  beverages.  There  was  one 
restaurant  especially  favored  by  Americans  and  often  patronized  by 
the  General.  One  clay,  as  he  was  seated  at  a  table  in  conversation, 
some  one  asked  him  if  he  could  speak  Spanish.  "  Certainly,"  he 
answered.  "  Mozo  !  una  botella  de  corveza  ! "  (Waiter !  a  bottle  of 
beer  !)     But,  if  we  may  believe  his  friends,  his  knowledge  of  Spanish 


AN  AMERICAN  HERO  AND  SOME  MEXICAN  GODS. 


59 


did  not  extend  much  beyond  this.  It  was  a  current  joke  in  Mexico, 
when  I  was  there,  the  year  following  his  second  visit,  that  one  of  the 
crowd  gathered  to  receive  him  shouted  out  in  Spanish,  "  Death  to 
Grant !  "  and  he,  taking  it  as  a  compliment,  rose  in  his  carriage  and 
lifted  his  hat.  Another  anecdote  that  used  to  tickle  the  Mexicans 
mightily  was  regarding  an  inscription   that  had   been  attached   to  a 


^^^^B^^^^^tei 


CASTLE    OF    CHAPULTEPEC. 


large  flag  stretched  across  the  street  he  was  to  pass  through.  It  was 
to  be  "  Welcome  "  in  English  ;  but  the  printer,  either  through  design 
or  ignorance,  omitted  the  w,  so  that  it  read  "  El  Come  "  (He 
Eats).  Comer  is  the  infinitive  "  to  eat ;  "  come,  the  present  indicative. 
This  joke  spread  like  wildfire;  and  the  poor  peon  who  had  been  taxed 
for  the  festivities  murmured  sullenly:  u  Es  verdad,  el  come  mucho !  " 
(That  is  true ;  he  eats  a  great  deal),  —  "  eats  a  heap,"  as  they  say 
in  the   South. 


60  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF  TREASURE. 

Although  several  points  in  Mexico  are  identified  with  Grant,  — 
Buena  Vista,  Cerro  Gordo,  Contreras,  Molino  del  Rey,  Chapultepec, 
—  yet  those  most  persistently  sought  out  in  the  future  will  be  Cha- 
pultepec and  Molino  del  Rey ;  for  it  was  during  the  engagements  at 
these  places  that  he  won  his  spurs,  —  was  promoted  for  bravery  on 
the  field.  On  the  occasion  of  his  second  visit,  as  the  honored  guest 
of  Mexico,  he  was  quartered  in  that  immense  building  known  as  the 
"  Mineria,"  or  School  of  Mines,  not  far  from  the  centre  of  the  city. 
This  structure,  which  cost  originally  $1,500,000,  is  rapidly  falling 
into  decay;  but  so  long  as  it  lasts,  it  will  be  visited  by  Americans 
anxious  to  view  this  relic  of  the  vice-royal  period,  rendered  more 
interesting  to  them  through  its  connection  with  America's  greatest 
chieftain. 

Most  of  our  time  was  spent  in  the  Mexican  Museum,  when  we 
were  in  the  city ;  for  it  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  places  on  the 
continent.  We  never  tired  of  looking  at  the  Mexican  gods,  big  and 
little,  which  were  scattered  about  in  endless  profusion.  There  was 
Teotle,  the  greatest  god  of  all  ;  Tezcatlipoca,  or  the  Shining  Mirror; 
and  Tlaloc,  the  God  of  Storms,  who  was  supposed  to  dwell  in  the 
crater  of  the  volcano  Popocatepetl.  It  is  said  that  in  ancient  times 
each  Mexican  noble  had  half-a-dozen  little  gods  in  his  house  at  once, 
and  an  old  Spanish  bishop  once  destroyed  twenty  thousand  of  these 
deities  in  a  single  day.  You  can  see  there  the  feather-covered  shield 
once  used  by  Montezuma,  arrow-heads  and  spear-head  of  obsidian ;  but 
the  most  valuable  things  there  are  the  celebrated  picture-writings  of  the 
Aztecs,  painted  on  deer-skin  and  paper  made  of  the  Mexican  maguey. 
One  of  these  specimens  is  over  sixty  feet  long,  and  folded  in  leaves 
like  a  great  clumsy  book.  The  historians  tell  us  that  the  most 
valuable  of  the  Aztec  manuscripts  were  destroyed  by  the  first  Bishop 
of  Mexico  ;  but  some  of  great  importance  yet  remain  here,  and  in 
some  other  museums  of  Europe.  The  drawings  herewith  are  repro- 
ductions of  veritable  picture-writings,  fac-similes  in  miniature,  except 


AN  AMERICAN  HERO   AND   SOME   MEXICAN  GODS. 


63 


Fig.  1. 


that  we  cannot  give  the  coloring.  In  the  original  the  first  figure 
was  made  on  paper  made  from  the  maguey,  or  Mexican  agave,  and  is 
of  great  antiquity-  It  shows  the  course 
of  Aztec  migration,  from  the  earliest 
annals  to  the  foundation  of  the  Em- 
pire of  Tezcoco ;  and  according  to  the 
picture  and  their  traditions,  the  Aztecs 
came  out  of  the  far  Northwest  about 
a  thousand  years  ago,  and  descended 
into  Mexico.  At  first  they  lived  in 
caves,  and  during  their  nomadic  ex- 
istence subsisted  entirely  by  the  chase, 

as  shown  in  Figure  1.     When  they  reached  the  Mexican  valley,  they 

camped  on  a  hill  which  they  called  Chapoltepec,  or  the   Hill  of  the 

Grasshopper;  and  this  is  shown  in  the  picture-writing 

by  its    totem,  a   figure  of    a  grasshopper  perched    on 

a  hill. 

On  an  island  in  the  centre  of  Lake  Tezcoco  they 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  City  of  the  Eagle  Cactus, 
because  they  saw  there,  as  their  priests  had  predicted, 
an  eagle  perched  upon  a  cactus  plant.  Figure  4 
was  taken  from  the  Codex  Mexicana,  a  chronological 
painting  setting  forth  the  complete  history  of  Mexico, 
from  the  departure  from  Aztlan  to  the  Conquest.  It 
is  said  to  be  the  fullest  and  most  accurate  record  ex- 
tant. It  was  painted  by  aboriginal  artists,  up  to  the 
period  of  the  Conquest,  and  thence  carried  on  by  less 
experienced  hands  to  near  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. The  circles,  enclosing  dots  and  other  figures,  rep- 
resent the  years  ;  there  were  but  four  names  for  the 
years  in  the  Aztec  calendar,  as  follows  :  Acatl,  the 
reed  ;  Tecpatl,  the  flint ;   Calli,  the  house  ;   and  Tochtli,  Fig.  3. 


Fig. 


64 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 


Fit 


the    rabbit.     These    years    were    arranged    in    indictions   of    thirteen, 
each   year   and    each   indiction    beginning  with   a   different    number. 

The  first  one  represented 
here  is  ( i )  Acatl,  going 
on  with  (2)  Tecpatl,  (3) 
Calli,  and  (4)  Tochtli ; 
beginning  the  second  se- 
ries of  four  with  (5)  A  call, 
etc.,  up  to  thirteen,  when 
the  next  indiction  be- 
gan with  (1)  Tecpatl,  the 
flint. 

In  the  year  (2)  Tccpatl  of  this  indiction,  we  see  by  the  hieroglyph 
that  the  first  Montezuma  (called  Ilhuicamina,  or  Archer  of  Heaven) 
died,  as  shown  by  the  enwrapped  figure  of  his  corpse ;  and  then 
succeeded  Ahuitzotl,  who  is  pictured  seated  upon  his  throne,  his  totem 
above  his  head. 

In  this  manner  the  ancient  Mexi- 
cans perpetuated  the  memory  of  their 
ancestors,  and  preserved  a  chrono- 
logical record  of  events,  by  a  sys- 
tem of  combined  hieroglyphs  and 
arbitrary  symbols  as  legible  as  it  was 
ingenious. 

But  there,  how  dry   and  prosy   I 
am  orettinor!     One  would  think  it  was 
the    Professor  writing,  or  rather  talk- 
ing, instead  of  your  volatile  friend  the  cortez. 
Historian. 

The  Professor,  you  will  remember,  was  lost,  —  at  least,  we  could  not 
find  him  ;  when,  as  we  were  strolling  through  the  Museum  one  after- 
noon, we  saw  the  old  recreant  behind  a  pile  of  idols.     He  was  securely 


AN  AMERICAN  HERO   AND  SOME  MEXICAN  GODS.  65 

intrenched  in  a  corner,  with  a  breastwork  of  antiquities  in  front  of 
him  shoulder  high.  He  merely  looked  up,  as  we  approached,  nodded 
absently,  as  though  he  had  met  us  before  that  very  day,  instead  of 
having  kept  us  hunting  for  him  for  weeks,  and  then  resumed  his 
reading. 

Peering  over  his  breastwork,  we  saw  that  he  was  intent  upon 
the  translation  of  an  old  Spanish  book,  bound  in  vellum,  and 
entitled  "  Cartas  de  Cortes  "( Letters  of  Cortez),  date  1522.  He  was 
so  profoundly  interested  in  his  reading  that  he  took  no  notice  of 
us  as  we  crept  nearer  and  nearer,  and  did  not  look  up  until  we 
jumped  upon  him  and  seized  him  by  the  shoulders. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   TREASURE    SYMBOLS    OF   THE   AZTEC    KING. 

The  Clew  to  Treasure-Trove.  —  The  Professor  and  his  Den  ;  also  his  Tale  of 
Trouble. —  The  Old,  Old  Book,  —  Towns  that  paid  Tribute  to  Montezuma,  — 
Gold,  Silver,  Feathers,  Tiger-skins  and  Mother-of-pearl. — The  Scheme  un- 
folded.—  Montezuma's  Money.  —  The  Reader  as  Wise  as  the  Writer. 


VEN  then  the  Professor  did  not  move,  and  we  were 
so  exasperated  that  we  fairly  shook  him.  What 
did  he  mean  by  such  strange  indifference  to  our 
anxiety  on  his  account  ?  Why  had  he  been  in  hiding 
all  this  time,  and  why  did  n't  lie  appear  more  like  a 
civilized  being  and  less  like  a  miserable  old  stick  ? 
Carefully  placing  a  thumb  at  the  place  on  the  page  he 
was  reading,  he  at  last  responded.  A  strange  light 
glimmered  in  his  spectacles  as  he  gazed  up  at  us  and 
said,  — 

"  I   can    afford    to    receive   your   reproaches,   for   I 
have  found  the  clew  !  " 

"  What !  the  clew  to  the  treasure  ?  " 

"  Nothing  less  than  that,  —  the  treasure  of  the  Aztec  King !  " 
"  Then  that  was  the  reason  for  your  hiding?  " 

"  Yes ;  I  felt  that  I  must  work  in  secret  and  carefully,  not  to  excite 
suspicion,  and  I  have  purposely  refrained  from  making  my  presence 
known.  The  director  of  the  Museum  is  an  old  friend  of  mine,  and 
he  gave  me  a  little  room  just  off  the  inner  court,  where  I  have  made  a 
good  use  of  my  time." 


THE    TREASURE  SYMBOLS   OF   THE  AZTEC  KING.  6 J 

"  And  you  are  sure  you  have  the  key  to  the  mystery  ?  " 

"  Yes,   sure  ;    in    two   days   we    will   start  for   the  ancient  mines." 

Now  that  he  was  a  captive,  the  Professor  yielded  with  a  very  good 

grace,  and  even  conducted  us  to  his  den.      It  was  a  dismal  den,  indeed, 

lighted    by    only    one    window, 

the   walls  hung   with   spears,  ar- 
rows,  Indian  shields,   and    many 

other  warlike  instruments.     We 

seated  ourselves,  and  awaited  the 

story  we  knew  the  Professor  had 

to  tell  us.     We  knew  how  slow 

and  prosy  he  was,  and  prepared 

to  pass  several  hours  before  the 

.    ,         c     .  i  -,       ,  i  •,-,        THE   CAVE   PERIOD    (AZTEC    PICTURE-WRITING). 

Sist  of  the  whole  matter  should  J 

be  revealed.      He  began,  as  we  knew  he  would,  away  back  in  the  dim 
ages  of  antiquity,  and  traced  the  history  of  the  Aztecs  through  all  their 
wanderings,  giving  dates,  and  the  opinions  of  historians,  and 
historical  references,  until  he  had  safely  brought  them  into  the 
valley  of  Mexico.     Then  he  paused  for  breath,  and  I  asked 
(2)  him  what  all  that  had  to  do  with  gold-hunting  in  Mexico;  and 

he  answered  :  — 

"  Well,  I  '11  tell  you.  It  has  everything  to  do  with  it,  in  bolstering 
up  my  assertion  that  I  relied  upon  Aztec  tradition  and  picture-writing 
to  guide  me  to  the  mines.  First,  I  have  shown  that  there  were  Az- 
tecs ;  then  that  they  had  traditions  and  native  historians,  who  were 
preyed  upon  by  foreigners ;  that  their  history  has  been  considered  of 
sufficient  importance  for  historians  of  all  nations  to  give  their  lives 
to  it  during  nearly  four  centuries;  and  lastly,  that  there  has  been  an 
acknowledged  system  of  pictographic  writing.  And  this,  the  kernel 
of  the  nut,  I  am  about  to  crack !  A  little  more  patience,  and  I  will 
net  around  to  it. 

"  First,  let  me   prove  that   the   Mexicans  were  well    provided  with 


68  THE   KNOCKABOUT   CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

precious  metals.  Let  us  accept  the  story  of  the  vast  amounts  sent 
home  to  Spain  as  tribute  from  Montezuma,  and  the  treasure  that 
dazzled  the  eyes  of  the  conquistadores  at  the  capture  of  Aztlan. 
There  is  sufficient  evidence  to  prove  the  truth  of  all  these  accounts. 
The  mountains  of  Mexico,  says  Clavigero,  abound  in  ore 
of  every  kind.  The  Mexicans  found  gold  in  the  countries 
of  the  Cohuixas,  Miztecas,  and  Zapotecas,  chiefly  in  the  sands 
of  rivers ;  silver  from  the  mines  of  Tlachco,  Tzompanco,  and 
others.  Of  copper  they  had  two  sorts,  —  one  hard  for  axes,  in- 
struments of  war,  etc. ;  the  other  soft,  for  basins  and  pots.  Tin  they  got 
from  the  mines  of  Tlachco.  Corn  they  had,  of  several  sorts  and 
colors ;  it  was  carried  from  America  to  Spain,  and  thence  to  the 
countries  of  Europe. 

"  Regarding  the  rich  and  expressive  names  of  the  Mexican  vo- 
cabulary, there,  for  instance,  was  the  lozcaguauhtli,  or  king  of  the 
zopilotcs  (buzzards).  When  the  two  species  happen  to  meet  about 
the  same  feast  of  carrion,  the  zopilote  never  eats  till  the  king  has 
satisfied  himself.  Then  there  is  the  huitzitzilon,  or  hum- 
ming-bird, called  by  the  Spaniards  cJuipamirto.  The  cent- 
zontli,  or  many-voiced,  is  the  delightful  mocking-bird. 
Every  word  is  expressive,  comprehensive. 

"  Now,  with  this  roundabout  introductory,  having  husked 
the  nut  and  divested   it   of  excessive  layers,  the  kernel  lies  open  to 
our  view. 

"  In  an  old  and  musty  library  one  day  I  found  an  ancient  volume 
in  vellum,  containing  an  equally  old  and  yellow  map.  This  map  was 
the  work  of 'Domingo  del  Castillo,  Piloto,  fecit  en  Mevico,  ano  del  na- 
cimiento  de  N.  S.,  Jesu  Cristo  de  MDXLI.'  It  was  further  entitled: 
'  Fragmentos  de  un  Mapa  de  Tributos,  o  Cordillera  de  los  Pueblos 
que  los  pagaban  en  que  genio,  en  que  cantidad,  y  en  que  tiempo,  a 
el  Emperador  Montezuma,  en  su  gentilidad '  (a  map  of  tribute,  or  a 
chain  of  towns  that  have  paid  tribute  to   Montezuma,  with  the  char- 


THE    TREASURE   SYMBOLS   OF   THE   AZTEC  KING.  69 

acter  and  quality  of  the  tribute,  expressed  by  tribute-symbols,  and  the 
date,  of  payment). 


MONTEZUMA. 


"  This  tribute-map  is  on  very  thick  paper  of  the  inctL  or  maguey, 
called  pita  in   Spanish. 

"  The  Indians  (the  forgotten  author  goes  on  to  explain),  in  their 
ignorant  paganism,  did   not  know  how  to  write  ;   and    their   method 


JO  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 

was  to  draw  or  paint  that   which  they  wished   to  express  in  various 
characters  or  figures. 

"  If  war  was  to  be  represented,  it  was  by  painting  streams  of  blood, 
signifying  destruction.  Even  the  doctrine  of  Christianity  it  was  ne- 
cessary, at  first,  to  teach  by  means  of  characters  or  pictographs.  The 
mode  of  writing  or  picturing  of  the  Indians  was  to  begin  at  the 
bottom  and  proceed  upward ;  the  first  figure  in  a  sheet,  on  this  plan, 
is  the  principal  pueblo,  capital  of  the  province,  dominating  those  on 
the  border,  and  which  are  subject  to  its  jurisdiction. 
wm*mm*m*i>'  "  The  original  of  the  pictographs  collected  by  Don 

0  '  -j|i|  Lorenzo    Boturini  were  printed   in  colors.     The  mili- 

W      iS  tary  01"ders  were  distinguished  by  their  different  dress; 

W^9         the  highest  (the  prince)  wore  plumes  of  eagle  feath- 
(6)       (3)  ers ;   another  a  lion  (puma)  skin  ;    another  an    ocelot 

(tiger)  skin,  etc. 

"  It  seems  quite  incredible,  —  the  great  number  of  mantles,  gar- 
ments, etc.,  contributed  annually  by  the  Pueblos  to  adorn  the  depend- 
ants at  the  palace  of  Montezuma. 

"The  principal  towns  and  cities  shown  in  this  map  are  as  follows: 

I.  Tlatelulco,  a  suburb  of  Mexico,  in  which  was  a  great  temple. 

II.  Tepetlatlalco,  which  contributed  corn,  cotton  cloth,  and  garments. 

III.  Acolman,  maize,  mantles,  and  also  garments. 

IV.  Cuernavaca,  maize,  cotton,  paper,  gourd  cups,  etc. 
V.  Huastepec,  the  same. 

VI.  Quaulitiltan,  palm-mats,  cotton,  and  maize. 

VII.  Huipuxtla,  maize  and  cotton  cloth. 

VIII.  Atotonilco,  the  same. 

IX.  Xilotepec,  cotton,  mantles,  frijoles  or  Mexican  beans. 

X.  Ouahuacan,  maize,  fine  woods,  cotton,  etc. 

XI.  Toluca,  the  same. 

XII.  Ocuila,  salt,  maize,  and  cotton. 

XIII.  Malinalco,  cotton  and  maize. 

XIV.  Tlachco,  virgin  honey  and  aromatic  gums. 
XV.  Tepequaquilco,  copal  and  precious  stones  (!). 


AZTEC  CALENDAR  AND  CYCLE. 


THE    TREASURE  SYMBOLS   OF   THE  AZTEC  KING. 


73 


XVI.  Huanthla,  cacao,  fajoles. 

XVII.  Tlalpan,  bars  of  gold  (!). 

XVIII.  Tlacozantitlan,  arnatto,  metal. 

XIX.  Chalco,  maize  and  mantles. 

XX.  Tepeaca,  fine  stones,  aromatic  gums, 

XXI.  Cohuaxtaca,  or  Oaxaca,  gold  and  cochineal. 

XXII.  Coyaltapan,  gold,  cochineal,  etc. 

XXIII.  Zoconusco,  cacao,  fine  stones,  birds,  tiger-skins,  and  feathers. 

XXIV.  Ouatochco,  cacao. 

XXV.  Cotaxtla,  precious  stones,  cacao. 

XXVI.  Tlapacoya,  clothing,  mantles. 

XXVII.  Tlanuquitepec,  liquid  amber. 

XXVIII.  Tuxpa,  precious  stones. 

XXIX.  Axtla,  cotton,  breech-clouts,  etc. 

XXX.  Cotton,  chile  and  clothing. 


"  This  chain,  or  cordillera,  is  incomplete ;  but  it  shows  the  vast 
amount  poured  annually  into  the  Aztec  capital,  as  tribute,  by  Monte- 
zuma's subjects.  Picture,  if  you  can,  the  long  stream  of  In- 
dians from  every  part  of  Mexico  subjugated  to  the  Aztecs, 
plodding  their  weary  way  toward  Aztlan.  That  this 
tribute-book  accurately  shows  the  article  contributed 
is  proven  by  the  fact  that  the  provinces  herein  men- 
tioned produce  the  same  things  to-day,  and  are  still 
known  by  their  native  names. 

"  Now,  as  to  the  tribute  itself,  and  the  symbols,  or  totems,  of  the 
towns  :  — 

(i)  Is  the  pictograph  of  t(  Aztlan  [or  Atlan]  lugar  de  Agua,"  or  "  Place-by- 
the-water-side  ;  "  Mexico  itself.  Fire  and  water  are  here  portrayed,  indicating 
the  lakes  Texcuco,  Xochimilco,  etc.,  near  which  it  lay,  and  the  prox- 
imity of  the  great  volcano,  Popocatepetl,  the  fire-mountain.  Note 
the  name  Atlan,  and  the  similarity  of  those  exotic  words  in  our 
language,  Atlantic  (ocean),  Atlan-tis  (the  traditional  country  said 
to  lie  beneath  the  waves  of  the  ocean).  A  whole  volume  of  specu- 
lation is  here  suggested,  as  to  the  connection  of  the  people  who 
founded  Aztlan   with  those  semi-mvthical   Atlantides!  . 


74 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


(2)  Is  the  token  of  Ouaulititlan,  the  district  that  contributed  palm-mats 
and  cotton.     To  this  day  its  products  are  similar  ! 

(3)  Tepequaquilco,  which  gave  its  stores  of  copal  and  fine  stones. 

(4)  Xilotepec,  bearing  the  same  name  to-day. 

(5)  Zoconusco,  with  its  figure  of  the  cactus. 

(6)  Is  a  pot  of  honey,  contributed  from  a  place  famous  for  its  honey-pots 
and  Xicaras.     The  flag  indicates  the  number  of  pots  sent  as   tribute,  always 

standing  for  the  number  forty. 

(7)  Is  a  string  of  chalchiuitls ,  or  jade  stones,  resembling  emerald, 
and  highly  prized  by  the  Mexicans  as  one  of  their  most  precious 
products. 

'XI'         (8)   Represents   pieces    of  wood,  eight    hundred   in   number,    as    we 
know  by  the  feather,  that  being  the  symbol  for  eight  hundred. 

(9)  Here  we  have  two  figures,  —  one  representing  a  shell,  and  the  other  a 
flat  bar.  The  shell  indicates  mother-of  pearl,  and  the  feather  the  number 
brought  in.     It  is  expressed  in  Aztec  as  follows :  — 

Ontzontli  Tepacktce,  in  Spanish  eight  hundred  conchas  de  nacar, 
or  eight  hundred  shells  of  mother-of-pearl. 

The  flat  bar  represents  gold  ;  expressed  in  Aztec,  Teocuitlatl  coztic 
matlactli  ;  in  Spanish,  Dies  barras  de  oro,  ten  bars  of  gold. 

(10)  Cotton, —  a  bale  of  cotton, — -eight  hundred  algodon  (Span- 
ish) or  (Aztec)  Ontzontli  cargas  de  tlama-malliyzcatl. 

(11)  Feathers,  —  Ontzontli  quetzalli,  eight  hundred  phnnas  ricas  verdes, 
or  eight  hundred  rich  green  plumes  of  the  quetzal,  the  royal  trogon  of 
Guatemala,   probably  from   Zoconusco. 

(12)  Huypilli, —  a  kind  of  garment  still  worn  by  the  Indians.  The  Maya 
Indians  of  Yucatan  still  have  the  huypilli.  The  feather  shows  that  eight 
hundred  were  sent  as  tribute. 

(13)  Military  uniforms,  —  Vestidos  adornos  militares  (Spanish).  This  is  a 
good  representation  of  the  military  uniform  of  the  Aztec  war- 
rior ;  the  grotesque  casque,  or  helmet,  the  body-apparel,  and  a 
feather-ornamented  shield. 

(14)  A  measure  of  maize.     Maize,  or  Indian  corn,  was  doubt- 
less indigenous  in  Mexico,  and  has  been  used  there  from  time 

03)  •  •  1 

immemorial. 

(15)  Ompoali   Ocelotl-yeuatl,   or   forty  piclcs   de   tigres    (tiger-skins).      The 

"  tiger  "  of  the  Mexicans  is  the  ocelot,  or  leopard-like  animal  that  still  prowls 

the  forests  of  the  tierras  calientes,  or  hot  lands,  of  the  coast  region. 


THE    TREASURE  SYMBOLS  OF  THE  AZTEC  KING.  75 

"  Have  I  not  proven  my  case,  —  that  is,  that  there  were  among  the 
Aztecs  men  who  possessed  a  coherent  system  of  hiero- 
glyphics, or  rather  of  ideographs ;  that  Montezuma  re- 
ceived vast  tribute  from  many  Indian  tribes  ;  that  the 
record  of  those  contributions  is  still  extant  ;  that  you 
have  had  a  fragment ;  that  these  tribute-symbols  indicate 
the  locales  of  those  Indian  treasures  ;  that  one  may  take  them  as  a 
guide  and  go  find  those  treasures  for  himself  ?  That  is  the  case  I 
bes;an  trying  to  make  out." 

The  Professor  paused,  took  off  his  spectacles  and  polished  them 
carefully,  and  waited  for  his  remarks  to  be  approved. 

The  Doctor  and  I  accorded  our  hearty  approval.  The  secret  had 
been  a  long  while  unfolding,  and  we  were  not  even  now  sure  we 
understood  it.  But  we  did  understand  that  the  Professor  knew,  or 
thought  he  knew,  where  Montezuma  kept  his  treasure,  and  that  he 
had  asked  us  to  join  him  in  Mexico  with  the  object  in  view  of 
finding  it. 

And  did  we  get  this  ancient  treasure-trove  ? 

That  is  something  that  will  be  revealed  in  due  time  ;  and  if  you 
will  join  us  you  shall  share  in  our  adventures,  even  though  you  do 
not  in  the  treasures. 


CIS) 


CHAPTER  V. 

ZTLAN    TO   ZAPOTLAN. 

Don  Santos,  the  Guide. — Ancient  Fortifications.  —  Seat  of  the  Zapotec  Kings. 
The  Cura  of  Cuilapan.  —  Deserted  Convent.  —  Grave  of  Malinche,  Mistress 
of  Cortez.  —  Guerrero,  a  Mexican  Patriot.  —  A  Mound  of  Skulls.  —  Vale 
of  Ejutla.  —  Where  Alvarado  fought. 


jjj 

EftM 

T  last  we  were  off.  The  Doctor  and  I  did  n't  mind 
much  where  we  were  going,  for  we  sniffed  a  good 
time  in  prospective,  —  weeks  in  the  saddle  ;  camp- 
fires  in  unexpected  forests ;  and  a  misty  lure  of  gold 
and  silver  mines,  when  other  things  should  fail. 
Three  days'  travel  due  south  from  the  line  of  the 
Mexican  railway  at  a  point  where  the  volcano  of  Orizaba  rises  nearest 
it,  brought  us  to  the  capital  city  of  Oaxaca,  the  ancient  Antequera. 
Oaxaca  was  once  the  seat  of  that  famous  tribe  of  Indians,  the  Zapo- 
tecs,  whose  civilization  raised  them  to  be  equals  of  the  Aztecs  when 
at  the  zenith  of  their  power.  The  Zapotecs  comprise  the  greater 
portion  of  the  population  of  the  Indian  city,  and,  in  a  wilder  state, 
of  the  residents  of  the  country.  They  dwell  now  chiefly  in  the  hill- 
country,  and  are  known  as  Serranos,  or  mountaineers,  —  unconquered 
freemen,  who  have  never  yet  felt  the  yoke  of  bondage.  Our  chief 
the  Professor  had  set  out  with  the  determination  of  wresting  from 
these  Serranos  a  secret,  a  sacredly  kept  tradition,  which  had  been 
guarded  by  them  with  jealous  care  for  three  centuries  and  a  half. 

As  we  went   along,  he  divulged   to  me  further  details   of  his   re- 
searches.    One  day,   at  the   noonday  lunch,   he  gave  me   more  par- 


AZTLAN   TO  ZAPOTLAN. 


77 


ticulars  about   the  book  which  had  given  him   the  information  that 
mainly  guided  us. 

Sitting  beneath  the  pines  of  that  Southern  slope,  with  an  ardent 
sun  beating  through  the  pine-needles  above  and  stamping  upon  the 
leaf-carpeted  soil  a  varied  pattern  in  nickering  shadow,  our  chief  pro- 
duced his  cherished  volume.  It  was  truly  a  treasure  of  itself,  bound 
in  antique  vellum,  and  bore  upon  its  back  in  faded  letters  of  gold 
the  words  "Cartas  de  Cortes."  "These,"  said  the  Professor,  "are 
those  famous  letters  from  Cortez,  fifteen  in  number,  to  his  sovereign, 
Carlos  V.,  written  in  the  field  and  at  intervals  during  the  siege  of 
Mexico.     In  his  second  letter,  written  in  the  year  152 1,  you  will  find 


PEAK   AND    CRATER    OF    ORIZABA. 


the  information  which  guides  me.  Herein  he  relates  the  story  of  the 
capture  of  Montezuma,  and  the  manner  in  which,  after  having  taken 
him  prisoner,  he  proceeded  to  extort  from  him  information  regarding 
the  sources  of  his  wealth.     A  roomful  of  treasure  was  divided  among 


78  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

the  Spaniards,  when  they  obtained  possession  of  Montezuma,  —  gold, 
wrought  into  beautiful  images,  hammered  into  vessels  of  fanciful 
shape,  and  cast  in  bars.  This  was  chiefly  the  accumulation  of  warrior 
kings  who  had  preceded  Montezuma,  and  particularly  of  Axayacatl, 
his  royal  father,  the  dreaded  '  Water-face,'  who  had  led  his  armies  far 
south  of  Tehuantepec,  even  to  Guatemala.  All  the  Aztec  treasure 
was  in  gold,  since  they  knew  not  how  to  extract  silver  from  its  hiding 
in  the  rock ;  and,  moreover,  it  was  mainly  obtained  from  the  rivers, 
in  grains  or  in  nuggets  from  placers. 

"  With  supreme  contempt  for  the  cupidity  of  Cortez  and  his 
band,  Montezuma,  seeing  that  the  Spaniards  valued  gold  so  highly 
as  to  be  ready  to  shed  blood  for  its  acquisition,  offered  to  show  them 
the  localities  where  it  could  still  be  obtained  in  abundance.  Follow- 
ing the  suggestions  of  the  captive  monarch,  Cortez  sent  two  soldiers 
with  each  guide  furnished  by  Montezuma,  who  went  directly  to  the 
places  indicated  by  him,  and  discovered  mines  rudely  worked  and 
streams  glistening  with  golden  sands.  Four  parties  went  out,  in  as 
many  different  directions ;  of  two  of  these  but  little  account  is  given. 
One,  however,  brought  back  gold  from  the  since  famous  province 
of  Tasco  (now  still  known,  in  the  State  of  Guerrero) ;  but  in  the 
southwest,  in  the  distant  province  of  Malinaltepec,  were  found 
rich  washings  of  <rold ;  and  the  soldiers  and  their  guides  returned 
well  laden  with  the  precious  metal.  Now,  this  province,"  continued 
the  Professor,  "I  have  exactly  identified  and  precisely  located ;  it  is  yet 
called  Malinaltepec,  and  coincides  in  distance  with  that  district  (as 
given  by  Cortez),  eighty  leagues  (Mexican)  from  the  Aztec  capital." 

Reading  on  through  the  quaint  old  Spanish,  the  Doctor  and 
myself  found,  indeed,  that  our  leader's  statement  was  correct,  and 
that  at  a  distance  of  only  twenty-eight  Mexican  leagues,  or  seventy 
miles  from  Oaxaca,  lay  the  province  of  the  same  name  as  that 
ancient  district  of  gold. 

I    remember   that  when   it   became  noised  abroad    that  we   were 


r 


ATZLAN  TO  ZAPOTLAN.  8 1 

o-oine  into  the  distant  hill-country,  we  received  from  the  Oaxacans 
repeated  warnings  of  the  dangers  attending  such  a  venture.  All 
admitted  that  the  ancient  gold-mines  and  the  river  with  yellow  sand 
were  in  that  region  ;  but  the  inhabitants  of  the  only  settlement  in 
possession  of  the  secret  had  sworn  to  protect  it  with  their  lives. 
Furthermore,  they  had,  said  rumor,  over  a  hundred  rifles,  with  which 
they  drilled  weekly,  and  with  which  they  were  determined  to  defend 
the  Aztec  treasure-trove  from   all  invaders. 

We  were  undeterred,  however ;  but  as  there  was  great  delay  in 
procuring  permission  from  the  authorities,  and  letters  of  introduction 
and  command  to  the  jefes  of  the  native  hill-tribes,  we  set  out  for  a 
side  exploration  of  a  near  valley,  rich  in  mounds  raised  by  the 
Indians  of  antiquity. 

"  We  will  first  gorge  ourselves  with  ruins,"  said  the  Professor, 
"  and  then,  having  thrown  the  authorities  off  the  track,  will  return 
and  strike  out  for  the  gold-mines." 

Mounted  upon  three  fine  horses,  and  under  the  leadership  of  Don 
Santos  Gomez,  a  well-known  character  in  Southern  Mexico,  we  forded 
the  broad  but  shallow  Oaxaca  River,  one  morning  in  August,  and 
climbed  the  hills  of  Monte  Alban.  After  riding  up  a  sloping,  fra- 
grant pasture,  wet  with  dew  and  delightfully  odorous,  we  reached  the 
top  of  the  Sierra,  crowned  with  a  series  of  gigantic  earthworks  which 
the  French  archaeologist,  Charnay,  declares  the  most  precious  in 
Southern  Mexico,  and  containing  now  and  then  a  sculptured  stone 
of  a  pattern  which  Viollet-le-Duc  deems  different  in  type  from  all 
others  of  Central  America,  but  similar  to  the  Egyptian. 

It  was  a  most  delightful  spot,  this  ancient  seat  of  the  Zapotec 
kings,  with  its  extensive  views  adown  the  triple  valley  of  Oaxaca ; 
and  from  it  we  could  trace  other  forts,  on  other  hills,  and  behold 
almost  countless  mounds  swelling  the  bosom  of  the  beautiful  vale  of 
Ejutla  which  extended  southward,  and  into  which  we  were  to  pene- 
trate.    Judging  not  only  by  these  physical  remains,  but  by  tales  and 

6 


82  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF    TREASURE. 

traditions  wafted  to  us  from  those  days  of  long  ago,  I  believe  this 
valley  to  have  been  fully  as  populous  as  that  of  Anahuec,  even  at  the 
period  of  Aztec  supremacy. 

It  was  rather  dangerous  work  to  descend  from  the  forts  to  the 
southern  valley ;  but  our  horses  were  safe  and  our  guides  trustworthy, 
and  so  in  safety  we  reached  Cuilapan,  formerly  a  great  city  of  the 
Miztecs,  but  now  a  wretched  little  Indian  town.  We  inquired  for 
mescal,  —  a  fiery  liquor  distilled  from  the  maguey  plant,  — for  our  chief 
was  sinking  beneath  the  fatigues  of  the  journey ;  and  learned  that  the 
only  persons  having  any  were  the  judge  and  the  cura,  or  parish  priest. 
The  latter  we  sought  at  once,  and  found  him  in  the  ruins  of  the  con- 
vent ;  an  immense  structure,  —  the  largest  of  the  kind,  we  were  told, 
out  of  Mexico  City,  —  with  a  vast  central  dome,  flanking  towers,  long 
ranges  of  cloisters  about  the  enclosed  and  pillared  patio,  and  groined 
arches  springing  to  the  airy  roof.  Beneath  the  high  dome,  and  directly 
in  front  of  the  altar,  is  an  ancient  and  massive  slab  carved  in  quaint 
devices,  and  with  an  iron  ring  in  each  corner.  "  This  slab,"  said  the 
cura,  "  covers  a  grave  to  which  tradition  points  as  that  of  Malinche, 
the  Tabascan  princess  who  served  Cortez  so  faithfully  throughout  the 
Conquest."  There  is  an  air  of  probability  about  this,  as  this  old  con- 
vent, said  to  have  been  begun  by  him,  is  in  one  of  the  three  In- 
dian towns  given  him  by  the  King  of  Spain,  when  he  was  created 
Marquis  of  the  Valley.  But  if  there  be  a  shade  of  doubt  hanging 
over  this  antique  slab,  and  if  indeed  Malintzin  —  Marina,  the  be- 
loved of  the  Spaniard  —  sleeps  beneath  some  other  stone,  another 
name  is  linked  with  this  ancient  convent  of  Cuilapan  which  should 
create  of  it  a  shrine  to  be  visited  by  every  patriotic  inhabitant  of 
Mexico. 

Guerrero,  the  lion-hearted  defender  of  Mexico,  was  shot  here ; 
murdered  by  his  countrymen,  even  while  fighting  for  their  own 
independence. 

If  there  be  au^ht  that  is  base  in  the   Mexicans'  character,  it  shows 


OBTAINING   PULQUE   FROM   THE    MAGUEY    PLANT. 


AZTLAN  TO   ZAPOTLAX.  85 

itself  in  the  readiness  with  which  they  will  turn  upon  a  friend  for 
policy's  sake. 

Santa  Anna  and  Bustamente,  —  two  prommciadores,  —  having  de- 
feated Guerrero,  the  elected  president  of  the  republic,  caused  him  to 
be  pursued  like  a  wild  beast  until  captured  off  the  southern  coast  and 
brought  here.  By  some  grim  freak  of  fate  he  was  tried  by  a  court- 
martial  presided  over  by  General   Montezuma. 

See  how  intimately  connected  are  these  four  great  names  which 
have  played  so  important  a  part  in  Mexico's  history !  In  the  court  of 
the  convent  begun  by  Cortez,  within  a  stone's-throw  of  the  grave 
of  Malinche,  —  who  was  more  potent  in  the  Aztec  overthrow  than 
the  whole  Spanish  army,  —  a  council  of  chiefs,  with  a  Montezuma 
at  their  head,  sentences  to  death  the  noblest  and  purest  of  Mexico's 
defenders  !     History,  truly,  brings  about  its  avenges  ! 

The  cura,  who  had  made  us  welcome  and  stabled  our  horses  in 
the  deserted  chapel,  took  us  to  the  spot  where  Guerrero  was  shot,  in 
February,  1831.  Here  is  a  tomb,  erected  to  his  memory  by  his 
grandson,  though  his  remains  are  interred  in  Mexico,  in  the  Pan- 
teon  San  Fernando.  From  the  curds  reception-room,  a  well-fur- 
nished apartment  on  the  lower  floor,  a  narrow  doorway  gave  entrance 
into  his  sanctum,  —  a  curiously  arched  cell,  with  an  alcove  in  which  was 
his  bed,  and  with  scant  room  to  spare.  In  this  cell  Guerrero  was 
confined  previous  to  execution,  and  through  one  narrow,  grated  win- 
dow, through  walls  at  least  three  feet  thick,  he  looked  out  upon  the 
spot  where  his  captors  subsequently  shot  him. 

Before  taking  leave  of  the  good  old  cura  and  his  ruins,  we  clam- 
bered over  the  vast  and  broken  brick  dome,  whence  we  viewed  the 
valley,  counting  twenty  Indian  mounds  in  sight,  and  numerous  mod- 
ern villages.  In  a  long  wing,  all  out  of  order  and  falling  to  decay, 
with  all  the  sacred  images  dropping  to  pieces,  is  a  fine  oil  painting 
of  Santiago,  patron  saint  of  Cortez,  who  appeared  on  his  famous  pale 
horse  at  the  battle  of  Tabasco  (a.  d.  15 19)  it  is  said,  and  frightened 


86  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

the  helpless   Indians  even  more  than  the  cavalry  and  cannon,  which 
they  that  day  saw  for  the   first  time. 

Riding  over  by-paths  through  somewhat  sedgy  corn-fields,  we  en- 
tered the  little  village  of  Ouachila  about  noon,  where  we  breakfasted 
with  the  priest,  to  whom  we  had  a  letter.  There  is  an  immense  adobe 
mound  here  we  fain  would  have  dug  into,  for  many  idols  have  been 
taken  from  it,  and  a  tomb  was  opened  here  containing  several  tiers 
of  metal  platters,  each  with  a  skull  on  it;  but  the  authorities  frowned 
upon  us,  and  we  did  not  persist,  for  we  were  told  that  the  natives  once 
set  upon  and  drove  away  the  would-be  desecrator  of  this  most  ancient 
of  burial-places. 

This  town  was  once  the  site  of  a  Zapotec  city,  where  the  king  re- 
sided;  and  not  far  from  here  is  a  conical  hill,  called  the  Pap  of  Maria 
Sanchez,  where  not  only  was  a  great  battle  fought,  between  Miztecs 
and  Zapotecs,  in  ancient  times,  but  it  was  besieged  by  Alvarado, 
on  his  march  to  Guatemala,  in  1522,  for  seven  days,  with  desperate 
fighting  each  day. 

The  vale  of  Ejutla  is  a  peaceful  region  now,  —  a  delightful  one  to 
tarry  in,  with  its  interesting  Indians,  descendants  of  the  very  ones 
who  had  crossed  swords  and  pikes  witfTAlvarado's  host,  and  with  its 
sweet  air  made  balmy  by  drifting  over  fields  of  sugar-cane;  its  soft 
landscape  of  cultivated  fields  embossed  with  mangos  and  other  trees 
of  darker  green,  with  white  stone  houses  on  the  haciendas  and  huts 
of  brown  bamboo  in  the  Indian  villages.  On  our  return  to  the  city, 
we  rode  through  miles  of  straggling  gardens  planted  with  the  cochi- 
neal cactus,  where  patient  Indians  assiduously  tended  the  insects  that 
brought  wealth  to  their  ancestors,  but  whose  crimson  blood  is  now 
superseded  by  the  cheaper  aniline  dye. 


CHAPTER   VI. 


MEXICAN     MOUNTAINS    AND    MOUNTAINEERS. 


i!ppl|_Mii 

if 

IE 

ppTti 

i^^— -^ 

The  Gallant  Caballo.  —  Inn  of  the  Lost  Souls.  —  Factory  in  a  Desert. — 
Brother  Fortune-seeker.  —  Birthplace  of  Juarez.  —  The  Cabildo,  or 
King's  House.  —  Canada  of  Ocote.  —  A  Squabble  with  Indians.  —  Breakfast 
in  the  Mud.  —  On  the  Golden  Trail.  —  Don  Celestino.  —  Our  New  Partner.  — 
The  Hammock  Bridge.  —  Grape-vine  Cables.  —  Alcalde  and  his  Silver  Wand. 

OW  gallantly  our  horses  bore  us  throughout  that 
journey,  and  the  long  one  following  upon  its  heels ! 
In  the  South  of  Mexico  we  may  still  find  horses  with 
almost  pure  Arab  blood;  gentle,  yet  spirited;  as 
bright  of  eye  and  clear  of  limb  as  those  the  Span- 
iards brought  to  Mexico  with  them  in  the  first  years 
of  the  Conquest.  The  best  of  them  are  trained  in  that  peculiar  and 
enjoyable  motion  called  the  paso,  in  which,  while  the  fore  legs  are 
prancing  gayly  in  the  air,  the  hind  legs  seem  scarcely  to  leave  the 
ground,  and  the  rider  is  hardly  moved  in  his  seat.  It  is  a  difficult 
pace  for  an  all-day  jog  ;  but  our  horses  fell  into  it  readily  at  a  pecu- 
liar motion  of  the  bridle-rein,  and  would  maintain  it  for  a  long  dis- 
tance, at  a  gait  of  about  six  miles  an   hour. 

Shortly  after  our  return  to  Oaxaca,  the  promised  letters  to  the 
Scrra?ws  were  delivered  to  us,  and  on  a  January  morning  we  set 
gayly  forth. 

Don  Santos  had  everything  in  readiness,  even  to  the  mangas  de 
agua,  or  rain-cloaks,  strapped  to  the  saddles  ;  and  an  intelligent  and 
sedate  mule  of  the  female  sex  —  an  Jicmbra — carried  in  a  mountain- 


88 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


heap  upon  her  back  the  numerous  articles  thought  indispensable  dur- 
ing three  weeks'  absence,  and  immediately  the  cavalcade  started  took 
her  place  as  leader  of  the  procession,  unguided  by  bit  or  bridle.  After 
leaving  the  valley,  our  trail  lay  through  the  foot-hills,  where  never  yet 
wheel  had  passed,  —  save,  perhaps,  a  cannon-wheel   in   revolutionary 


THE    SPANIARDS    IN    MEXICO. 


times,  —  and  at  noon  we  reached  the  aimbrcs,  or  hill-crests,  where  the 
level  fields  of  the  lower  country  were  exchanged  for  beautiful  woods 
of  oak  and  pine.  A  billowy  sweep  of  wooded  hills  lay  before  us,  and 
far  in  the  distance  we  saw  the  vale  of  Ixtlan,  in  the  centre  of  which 
lay  the  town  where  we  were  to  sleep  that  night.  For  an  hour  or  so 
we  rode  through  fragrant  woods,  emerging  from  which  we'  halted  at  a 


MEXICAN  MOUNTAINS  AND   MOUNTAINEERS.  89 

mud  hut  known  as  el meson  de  las  almas  perdidas,  or  "the  inn  of  the 
lost  souls,"  because  one  of  its  plastered  walls  was  covered  with  a  paint- 
ing representing  the  burning  of  souls  in  the  flames  of  hell. 

We  got  a  wretched  breakfast,  or  desayuno,  here,  consisting  of  cold 
and  clammy  tortillas,  or  flapjacks,  and  soup  hot  with  chili,  served  on 
the  earthen  floor  of  a  low  stone  house.  Descending  yet  farther,  we 
left  behind  us  the  forest  lands,  and  wound  our  way  down  a  steep  hill, 
strewn  with  flints  and  agates,  reaching  at  the  bottom  the  fabrica  de 
Xia,  a  large  and  handsome  cotton-factory,  run  by  water-power  from 
a  very  small  stream.  Wonder  succeeded  to  astonishment  when  we 
learned  that  every  pound  of  the  machinery  in  this  large  factory  and 
every  ounce  of  cotton  used  in  its  looms  had  been  brought  over  two 
hundred  miles,  on  the  backs  of  mules.  The  chief  engineer  of  Xia, 
Daniel  Whittaker,  had  spent  all  his  life  looking  for  mines,  and  had  a 
heap  of  rich  specimens  to  show  us,  and  an  equallv  rich  store  of  in- 
formation. He  had  heard  of  the  mine  we  were  in  search  of,  and  we 
thought  seemed  disappointed  that  we  should  visit  its  locality  first. 
He  had  spent  months  in  fruitless  search  of  the  "  robbers1  treasure  "  on 
the  great  slopes  of  the  majestic  mountain  volcano  Orizaba,  finding  all 
the  signs  of  proximity,  —  the  old  fortifications,  and  the  red  cross  on  the 
wall,  —  but  no  buried  money.  He  it  was  who  first  informed  us  how 
the  ice  was  made  with  which  he  cooled  the  beer  he  Q-ave  us.  In  the 
cumbres  the  natives  dig  shallow  pits,  where  the  water  freezes  at  night 
in  thin  sheets,  which  are  stored  in  straw  houses  in  some  gloomy  ravine 
until   quite   a   thick  block   is  obtained. 

The  jolly  engineer  had  made  it  so  agreeable  for  us  that  it  was  late 
when  we  left  for  Ixtlan.  A  broad  river  ran  below,  spanned  by  a 
bridge  of  round  poles  covered  by  a  single  roof,  crossing  which  we 
climbed  to  the  little  hamlet  of  San  Pablo,  as  the  increasing  coolness 
of  night  brought  to  a  close  a  day  that  had  been  exceedingly  hot.  There 
was,  in  truth,  hardly  any  town  at  all  ;  gurgling  streams  ran  by  the 
roadside,   flowers  bloomed  in    every  crevice   of  the  rough  stone-walls, 


9o 


THE  KNOCKABOUT   CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


little  gardens  of  maize  lay  tilted  up  amongst  the  rocks,  while  the 
sweetest  of  wild  pasture-lands  ran  up  to  the  great  cliffs  on  the  west, 
and  to  the  high  hills  that  hemmed  in  the  valley.  It  reminded  us  of  a 
New  England  hill-town,  this  obscure  village  of  Indian  farmers  ;  and 
there  was  born  here,  in  1806,  as  great  a  man  —  if  we  consider  his 
surroundings  and  the  eminence  he  rose  to  —  as  any  New  England  has 
produced;  for  Juarez,  the  "  Washington  of  Mexico,"  first  saw  the  light 
in  this  place.  A  small  stone  church  and  the  casa  municipal  are  the 
only  buildings  not  made  of  mud,  and  this  latter  was  pointed  out  with 
pride  and  affection  by  the  Indians  as  standing  on  the  very  spot  once 
occupied  by  the  hut  in  which  "  Don  Benito  "  was  born.  The  parents 
of  Benito  Juarez  were  in  humble  life,  possessing  only  the  simple 
habits  and  slender  means  of  other  Indian  peasants  and  herdsmen  of 
Ixtlan,  and  were  quite  unable  to  educate  their  son.  He  lived  at  home 
until  the  death  of  his  father,  and  at  the  ao-e  of  twelve  could  neither 
read  nor   write,  and  spoke  only  his  native  tongue,  the  Zapotec  ;  for 

Benito  was  of  pure  Indian  blood,  descend- 
ant of  ancestors  who  were  in  possession  of 
these  hills  at  the  coming  of  the  Spaniards. 
Many  of  the  youth  of  the  hill-towns  had 
gone  down  to  the  capital  city,  and  engaged 
in  domestic  service  in  return  for  the  privi- 
leges of  an  education ;  and  when  a  little 
more  than  twelve  years  old,  young  Benito, 
the  ignorant  Indian  boy,  followed  in  their 
juarez.  footsteps.       Here  he  found  a  patron,  who 

taught  him  to  read  and  write,  and  event- 
ually aided  him  through  the  institute  where  he  studied  law  and  the- 
ology. Having  left  the  hills,  he  passes  beyond  the  range  of  our  vision, 
and  we  care  not  to  interrupt  the  narrative  of  our  journey  to  trace  his 
subsequent  career  as  governor  of  his  native  State,  general  of  the 
forces,  cabinet  minister,  and  finally  president  of  the  Republic,  and 
the  acknowledeed   savior  of   Mexico. 


MEXICAN  MOUNTAINS  AND  MOUNTAINEERS.  91 

Ciie  might  well  expect  to  learn  that  a  great  man  had  been  nurtured 
here  in  youth  ;  the  fields  and  rocks,  the  fragrant  pastures  covered  with 
bushes  and  flowering  trees,  are  all  suggestive  of  sturdy  youth.  The 
Indians  of  these  hills,  warlike  and  with  the  prestige  of  an  unconquered 
people  behind  them,  have  often  left  their  homes  to  fight  in  revolutions. 
It  was  sunset  when  we  turned  our  backs  upon  this  sweet  hamlet,  and 
quite  dark  when  we  rode  into  Villa  Juarez  de  Ixtlan,  two  miles 
farther  on. 

The  scenery  about  this  town  is  very  striking  as  well  as  pleasing ; 
great  cliffs  surround  broad  and  pleasant  pastures;  the  village  has  a 
good  church  and  plaza,  some  nice  stone  houses,  and  a  charming  little 
fort  perched  upon  a  great  rock  with  perpendicular  sides. 

The  district  abounds  in  silver-mines,  there  being  scarcely  a  house- 
holder there  that  does  not  own  one,  which  he  works  just  enough  to 
supply  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  no  more,  no  matter  how  rich  the 
veins. 

We  were  much  troubled  to  find  a  place  to  sleep  in  and  something 
to  eat,  as  the  cura  and  the  jefe  politico,  to  whom  we  had  letters,  were 
both  away.  Having  ridden  seven  leagues  in  the  morning  upon  only  a 
cup  of  coffee,  and  seven  in  the  afternoon  after  a  slight  Lunch,  we  were 
much  fatigued  and  very  hungry.  Fortunately  we  encountered  a 
widow  who  kept  a  shop,  —  a  tienda,  —  and  we  ultimately  fared  very 
well,  having  a  hearty  supper,  and  sleeping  upon  some  wooden  benches 
with   straw  mats   spread   over  them. 

As  we  left  Ixtlan,  very  late  in  the  forenoon,  delayed  by  an  unful- 
filled promise  of  the  jefc  to  furnish  us  with  a  guide,  the  widow  poured 
into  our  ears  fresh  stories  of  the  hostility  to  strangers  of  the  people  of 
Yolos  and  Malinaltepec,  who  had  sworn  eternal  enmity  to  miners  and 
silver-seekers,  saying  they  destroyed  their  property  and  ruined  their 
rivers.  Tradition  has  handed  clown  to  them  that  all  the  troubles  of 
their  race  arose  from  disclosing  their  gold  to  strangers.  But  while 
we  mentally  acquiesced  in  the  wisdom  of  these  people  in  adopting  this 


92  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

course,  and  thanked  the  bright-eyed  viuda  for  her  cautions,  still  we 
headed  our  horses  toward  the  unexplored  country,  and  laughingly 
rode  away. 

The  crests  and  ridges  of  these  hills  were  crowned  with  forests  of  oak 
and  pine,  and  their  sides  covered  with  gardens.  We  zigzagged  up  and 
down,  crossing  tinkling  streams  with  butterflies  hovering  over  them 
and  Indian  children  playing  in  them,  ever  climbing  and  descending, 
until  we  reached  a  great  wooden  cross  set  up  in  a  gap,  and  looked 
down  upon  the  village  of  Analco,  just  as  a  terrific  thunder-storm  broke 
over  us,  and  the  trail  down  the  steep  was  a  rushing  brook,  down  the 
bed   of  which  we   picked   our  way  carefully. 

There  we  first  made  acquaintance  with  the  casa  real,  or  king's 
house,  called  also  the  cabildo,  a  house  erected  for  the  free  lodgment 
of  all  travellers  in  all  towns  unprovided  with  a  hotel.  The  cabildo 
exists  in  accordance  with  an  ancient  law,  which  also  provided  that  the 
alcalde,  the  chief  man  of  the  village,  whose  emblem  of  office  is  a  longf 
silver-mounted  stick,  and  his  topiles,  who  bear  wands  a  little  plainer, 
shall  alone  purchase  provisions  for  the  traveller.  It  may  be  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  alcalde  was  absent  that  we  fared  so  hard,  being  unable 
to  buy  anything  at  all.  The  doors  of  this  cabildo  were  wide  open, 
and  we  marched  in  and  took  possession,  though  no  one  bade  us 
enter. 

The  bell-tower  of  the  church  is  on  a  near  mound,  and  commands  a 
grand  view  of  the  opposite  side  of  a  vast  amphitheatre  of  hills  which 
enclose  two  villages,  and  is  cultivated  in  immense  fields  of  corn  from 
the  river-bottom  clear  to  their  crests,  where  great  trees  stand  up 
against  the  sky.  Riding  three  leagues  farther,  over  infernal  trails,  but 
through  most  beautiful  woods  of  pine  and  deciduous  trees,  we  found 
a  solitary  hill-farm  called  Ocote,  or  Pine  Ranch,  where  we  had  hoped  to 
find  rest  also;  but  seeing  that  only  the  mud  floor  of  a  miserable  hut, 
thatched  with  grass  and  with  walls  of  poles,  between  which  we  could 
look  in    any  direction,  was    available,  we    hastened  on  to    Lavina,  a 


IX    THE    MIXES    OF   THE    MONTEZUMA. 


MEXICAN  MOUNTAINS  AXD  MOUNTAINEERS.  95 

settlement  two  miles  farther  down  a  tremendous  Canada  and  across 
a  foaming   river. 

Hidden  in  a  vast  corn-field  was  the  village,  but  there  was  no  shelter 
open  to  us  except  an  empty  hut  of  mud  and  thatch.  Two  large 
houses  that  we  had  seen  here  from  a  distance,  and  which  looked  in- 
viting, were  found  to  be  the  one  a  jail  and  the  other  a  church,  and 
both  alike  inhospitable.  Some  very  obtuse  Indian  women  set  about 
preparing  some  soup  and  toasting  some  dried  beef  on  an  ox-goad, 
which  pccupation  held  them  two  hours;  and  it  was  not  until  we  had 
taken  turns  several  times  around  in  growling  at  the  cooks,  that  we 
finally  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  food  spread  out  on  the  clay 
floor.  Meanwhile  we  were  much  exercised  by  a  drunken  Indian,  clad 
in  cotton  drawers  and  sarape,  who  claimed  to  be  secretary  of  the  mu- 
nicipality, and  insisted  upon  our  showing  our  passports,  declaring 
stoutly  that  all  strangers  must  have  written  permission  to  pass  through 
the  Sierras.  This  relic  of  revolutionary  times  had  been  long  abolished; 
but  this  illiterate  had  not  heard  of  it,  and  becoming  wrathful  and 
turbulent,  he  was  beguiled  by  our  chief  into  the  corn-field,  where  he 
was  tripped  up  and  laid  upon  the  ground,  and  fell  at  once  into 
quiet  slumber.  Other  Indians,  now  gathering  in  numbers,  were  rude 
and  of  independent  bearing,  and  each  one  carried  either  a  gun  or  a 
sabre  ;  but  after  we  had  spread  straw  upon  the  ground  and  essayed  to 
sleep,  it  was  very  quiet  all  through  the  night,  —  only  a  dog  barked  and 
a  horse  broke  into  the  corn,  —  and  we  had  no  use  for  the  revolvers, 
which  lay  thickly  around  us. 

In  the  delicious  coolness  of  the  following  morning  we  climbed  the 
hills  to  Macuiltianguis,  where  we  got  breakfast,  squatted  on  the  dirt 
floor  of  a  mud  hut,  fighting  away  hens,  dogs,  and  pigs,  while  we  de- 
voured with  avidity  huevos  duros,  or  hard-boiled  eggs,  tortillas  and 
frijolcs,  cooked  over  an  open  fire,  after  the  usual  style.  Beyond  this 
town,  from  a  high  spur  on  our  road,  we  looked  miles  ahead  over  a  vast 
amohitheatre  of  forest   and   corn-fields,  in  which  were  set  the  white 


96  THE  KNOCKABOUT   CLUB   IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

and  mud-colored  walls  of  three  towns.  In  the  first  we  reached, 
Comaltepec,  a  surprise  awaited  us,  —  something  to  cheer  our  hearts 
and  to  revive  in  us  the  memory  of  the  mine  we  had  set  out  to  find. 
A  familiar  figure  stood  in  the  road,  a  squat  little  Mexican,  with  a 
ferocious  grin  on  his  face,  whom  we  recalled  (after  he  had  reminded 
us)  as  the  proprietor  of  Ocote,  a  rancho  we  had  passed  the  night 
before.  He  greeted  us  effusively,  then  asked  us  to  his  town  house, 
close  at  hand,  where  he  showed  us  specimens  of  gold  and  several 
bars  of  silver,  which  he  said  came  from  veins  he  had  discovered. 

In  an  outer  room  we  found  a  forge  and  implements  for  smelting 
metals,  and  while  we  were  examining  them  he  told  us  that  he  had 
been  experimenting  for  forty  years,  and  offered,  for  adequate  con- 
sideration, to  conduct  us  to  veins,  the  richest  in  the  country,  —  not 
veins  only,  but  pockets  of  gold,  which  were  known  only  to  a  few 
Indians  and  himself. 

"  How  long  have  these  veins  been  known  ?  "  demanded  the 
Doctor. 

Our  new  acquaintance  glanced  around,  with  suspicion  gleaming 
from  beneath  his  shaggy  brows,  closed  his  door  against  our  guide  and 
another  Mexican  outside,  and  whispered  huskily,  — 

"  They  are  the  mines  of  the  great  Cacique,  Montezuma  !" 

"  Great  Scot !  "  ejaculated  our  chief.  "  Do  you  know  the  tradition 
regarding;  those  mines  ?  " 

"  Si,  Scnor,  they  lie  near  Malinaltepec.  The  great  captain, 
Cortez,  sent  two  soldiers  to  examine  them,  many,  many  years  ago  ; 
I  can  myself  show  you  whence  the  soldiers  dug  the  nuggets  that 
were  taken  to  the  conquistador ! " 

"  Heavens!"  said  the  chief  to  us,  in  English,  "  this  man  is  a  God- 
send to  us ;  he  can  doubtless  take  us  to  the  very  spot.  I  wonder  what 
sort  of  trade  we  can  make  with  him." 

And  how  we  hugged  ourselves,  at  the  thought  of  this  valuable  man, 
so  luckily  thrown  in  our  way!  and  our  eyes  opened  wider  and  wider  at 


CORTEZ    RECEIVED    BY    MONTEZUMA. 


MEXICAN  MOUNTAINS  AND  MOUNTAINEERS.  99 

his  recital.  He  told  us  that  he  had  known  of  these  ancient  deposits 
forty  years;  three  others,  who  had  shared  the  secret  with  him,  were 
now  dead.  Too  poor  to  work  the  mines,  too  suspicious  of  his  own 
countrymen  to  intrust  the  business  to  any  one  else,  he  had  remained 
inactive  till  this  time.  It  seemed  that  after  we  had  left  him  the  night 
before,  he  lay  awake,  speculating  upon  the  chances  that  could  have 
brought  strangers  and  white  men  to  this  region.  There  was  not 
another  of  his  color  —  this  was  a  doubtful  compliment  to  us  —  in  the 
whole  country  beyond ;  we  were  the  first  he  had  seen  that  way  for 
years ;  and  at  last  he  concluded  it  was  mines,  and  nothing  else,  that 
brought  us  here.  And  at  one  o'clock  that  morning  he  got  up  and 
saddled  his  burro,  telling  his  wife  that  he  had  dreamed  that  we  were  the 
men  he  had  waited  for  so  long,  and  that  he  must  overtake  us,  for  the 
oracle  at  Ixtlan,  whom  he  had  consulted  so  late  as  the  week  before, 
had  told  him  that  strangers,  whom  he  could  trust,  were  even  then  on 
the  road  to  him ;  that  he  had  a  fortune  already,  and  why  did  n't  he 
avail  himself  of  it  ?  So  he  resolved  that  the  Lord  had  sent  us,  and 
the  time  had  come  to  reveal  the  secret. 

We  assured  him  that  he  was,  beyond  a  doubt,  correct ;  the  chief 
told  him  to  mount  his  beast  and  come  along,  promising  to  treat  with 
him  if  he  had  anything  valuable,  and  he  promptly  followed  us.  After 
descending  a  steep  ravine  we  came  to  two  broad  and  rapid  streams, 
crossed  by  a  single  great  log  each,  over  which  our  horses  carried  us 
safely,  though  with  some  fear  and  trembling  on  our  part.  At  Yolos, 
the  town  beyond,  the  euro,  was  absent ;  so  we  left  our  compliments  with 
a  pretty  girl,  who  seemed  to  stand  him  instead  of  a  wife,  and  rode  on 
yet  farther.  The  grandest  hill  scenery  of  Mexico  lay  before  us;  we 
were  completely  isolated  from  all  of  our  own  speech,  yet  riding  peace- 
fully through  the  very  heart  of  the  Indian  country,  where  cultivated 
plants  lined  the  road  at  times,  and  in  places  blackberries  in  clusters 
drooped  over  us  so  that  we  could  eat  them  as  we  sat  in  our  saddles. 
It  was   the  rainy  season,  and  that  afternoon,  while  climbing  a  crest 


ICO  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

of  the  ridge  above,  leading  our  horses  among  great  rocks,  a  fearful 
storm  came  clown,  that  threatened  to  wash  us  over  the  precipice,  — 
after  scaling  which  we  saw  another  town,  completely  buried  in  corn- 
fields, Quiotepec,  to  the  comandante  of  which  we  had  a  letter.  He  came 
in,  after  dark,  —  an  Indian,  about  five  feet  high,  with  a  sparse  beard, 
active  and  amiable,  and  clad,  like  all  the  rest,  in  shirt,  drawers,  and  san- 
dals. He  provided  us  with  beds  by  spreading  straw  matting  on  some 
benches,  and  the  next  morning  gave  us  a  letter  ordering  the presidente 
of  Malinaltepec  to  show  us  every  favor.  Malinaltepec  was  our  objec- 
tive point,  the  region  named  in  the  letters  of  Cortez,  where  Montezuma 
is  said  to  have  built  a  pleasure  palace  for  the  King  of  Spain  and  to 
have  laid  out  gardens  planted  with  cocoa  and  tobacco.  According  to 
tradition,  then,  the  letters  of  Cortez,  the  reports  of  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  and  the  asseverations  of  our  friend,  Don  Celestino,  of  Ocote 
Ranch,  rich  mines  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Malinaltepec.  It  lay 
deep-buried  below  the  hills  in  a  stifling  hot  valley,  with  the  climate 
of  the  tierra  calieiite,  as  well  as  its  fruits  and  flowers.  It  was  a  terrible 
trail  that  led  down  the  hillsides  from  Quiotepec,  steep  and  stony,  and 
with  innumerable  twists  and  doublings  upon  itself.  The  hills  and 
cliffs,  and  in  particular  one  great  isolated  rock  called  the  "  Convent," 
were  red  in  color  and  shot  up  hundreds  of  feet,  and  at  their  bases 
flowed  a  swift  and  turbid  torrent,  the  Rio  Grande.  The  yellow  flood 
was  spanned  by  an  aboriginal  bridge,  one  of  the  most  ingenious  I  haye 
ever  seen,  constructed  without  rope,  nail,  board,  or  iron  bolt.  It  was 
a  "  hammock  bridge,"  and  made  entirely  of  grape-vines.  From  high 
poles  on  either  bank,  braced  and  stayed  by  vine  cables,  were  stretched 
great  cables  twisted  of  grape-vines,  nearly  three  hundred  feet  in 
length.  Suspended  from  these  ropes  was  a  network  of  vines,  forming 
a  V-shaped  passage-way,  like  a  great  hammock,  stretching  from  pole 
to  pole.  It  hung  at  least  thirty  feet  above  the  stream,  and  the  vine- 
ladders  that  once  led  up  to  it  from  either  side  had  been  carried  away 
by  floods;  but  the   Doctor  and  the  chief  determined  to  cross  upon  it, 


MEXICAN  MOUNTAINS  AND   MOUNTAINEERS.  IOI 

though  it  was  necessary  to  climb  up,  hand  over  hand,  by  a  single  vine. 
The  bridge  was  so  high  above  the  water,  and  shook  so  alarmingly 
at  the  slightest  breath  that  I  concluded  to  ford  the  stream,  with  Don 
Santos,  and  towed  over  the  horses  of  the  other  two  while  they  essayed 
the  bridge.  They  climbed  bravely  up,  the  chief  leading,  for  about  twenty 
feet,  when  their  strength  failed  them  ;  they  could  get  no  farther.  Don 
Santos  and  I  were  in  mid-stream,  with  all  the  horses ;  and  we  nearly 
laughed  ourselves  out  of  our  saddles  at  the  futile  efforts  of  our  luckless 
companions,  dangling  helpless  twenty  feet  above  the  ground.  At  last, 
disgusted  and  crestfallen,  they  slid  down  the  grape-vine,  and  shouted 
for  Don  Santos  to  return  and  swim  them  across  on  their  horses. 

We  were  not  far  from  the  Indian  village ;  but  the  trees  were  so 
thick  about  it  that  we  could  see  no  houses,  and  all  were  laden  with 
fruit,  —  oranges,  plums,  peaches,  limes,  and  mammie  apples.  In  the  first 
field  we  found  some  Indians  breaking  up  the  soil  with  a  crooked 
stick  ;  and  to  one  of  them,  who  was  pointed  out  as  the  presidente,  but 
who  was  clad  simply  in  shirt  and  drawers,  we  gave  our  letter  from 
the  comandante.  After  standing  over  it  half  an  hour,  unable  to  read 
it,  they  left  the  plough  and  furrow  and  led  the  way  to  the  village, 
knocking  off  the  trees  for  us,  on  the  road,  more  plums  and  oranges 
than  we  could  eat. 

Near  the  middle  of  a  dense  orange-grove,  golden  with  fruit,  was 
the  casa  of  the  cura,  to  which  we  were  conducted.  The  worthy 
priest  pays  only  monthly  visits  to  Malinaltepec  ;  so  his  house  was  damp 
and  mouldy,  its  thatch  leaky  and  grass-grown,  its  clay  floor  slimy; 
its  one  room,  containing  a  table  and  three  wooden  benches,  —  not 
a  stick  of  furniture  else,  —  anything  but  inviting.  Into  this,  after  a 
great  deal  of  ceremony,  we  were  shown  ;  the  alcalde  coming  to  receive 
us  at  the  head  of  a  procession,  and  bearing  his  silver-tipped  wand 
of  office.  Every  house  in  the  village  was  of  mud  or  wattled  sticks, 
thatched  with  grass.  Their  church,  once  a  beautiful  structure  of  stone, 
was  toppled  over  by  an  earthquake  many  years  ago,  and  a  thatched 


102         THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

shed  propped  up  with  poles  covered  the  altar,  where  a  dingy  Virgin 
sat  in  ragged  finery,  which  long  had  been  the  sport  of  the  elements. 
Three  bells,  which  once  had  hung  in  the  church-tower,  the  oldest 
bearing  date  1702,  were  suspended  beneath  a  rude  scaffold  covered 
with  a  roof  of  grass. 

Don  Celestino  was  now  in  his  glory,  for  few  of  these  Indians  spoke 
Spanish,  and  we  needed  him  as  interpreter.  As  we  retired  to  the  bare 
benches  that  night,  he  assured  us  that  the  morrow's  sun  should  glint 
the  gold  in  our  hands,  —  the  precious  metal  we  had  come  so  far  to 
seek,  —  that  is,  unless  the  people  resisted  us  by  force  of  arms,  when 
they  should  see  us  departing  for  the  mineral  gulch. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

HOW   WE   BECAME   MILLIONAIRES    AND    LOST   $40,000,000. 

The  Bandit  and  his  Burro.  —  Perrito,  the  Dog  with  an  Appetite.  — At  the 
Mine's  Mouth.  —  The  Pensive  Tortillera.  —  Cliffs  of  Horn  Silver.  —  Forty 
Millions  in  Sight.  —  The  Tables  Turned.  —  A  Scuffle  in  the  Dark.  —  A 
Modern  Abdallah.  —  A  Horrible  Suspicion.  —  How  we  lost  our  Millions.  — 
The  Hermit  we  Discover.  —  The  Robber's  Cave.  —  The  Stolen  Specimens.  — 
The  Vagrant  Vein.  —  Vamonos  ! 


ON  CELESTINO  the  next  afternoon  mounted  his 
pensive  burro,  and  led  the  way  west  of  the  hamlet, 
across  a  stream  that  tumbled  noisily  over  great 
boulders,  to  a  hut  on  a  hill  all  alone  by  itself. 

The  Don  was  a  comical  old  man ;  he  was  not  an 
inch  over  five  feet  in  height ;  his  iron-gray  hair  was 
pulled  over  his  eyes,  which  twinkled  devilishly,  and  a  stubby  head  hid 
the  greater  part  of  his  shrewd  old  face. 

On  horseback  —  or  rather,  astride  his  burro  —  he  was  a  most 
laughable  figure ;  for  he  kept  in  perpetual  motion  his  short,  scantily 
draped  legs,  each  naked  heel  armed  with  an  enormous  spur.  Whether 
he  was  bandit  or  no,  did  not  concern  us ;  but  the  appetite  he  carried 
did,  for  it  threatened  to  consume  all  the  resources  of  our  commissary, 
and  gave  honest  Don  Santos  a  fit  of  the  sulks.  A  disgraceful  little 
dog  followed  close  at  his  heels,  to  which  he  gave  the  choicest  morsels 
from  our  table.  This  must  be  taken  as  a  figure  of  speech,  since  it 
was  not  often  we  had  a  table,  our  spread  being  usually  on  the  ground, 


io4 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OE   TREASURE. 


where  the  cur  could  help  himself.  Perrito,  the  pup,  stood  so  high 
in  his  owner's  regard  that  we  dared  not  express  our  opinion  regard- 
ing him  to  the  Don,  since,  as  our  chief  put  it,  there  was  a  possi- 
ble gold-mine  in  the  Mexican,  which  we  must  not  jeopardize  by 
kicking  a  paltry  puppy.  But  one  morning  I  met  the  Doctor  com- 
ing from  the  rear  of  the  church  with  a  smile  that  broadened  as  he 
told  me  he  had  improved  an  opportunity  to 
kick  Perrito  so  earnestly  that  we  should  not  be 
troubled  with  his  presence  that  day  at  dinner. 
At  the  solitary  hut  on  the  hill  we  left  our  horses 
and  descended  to  the  bed  of  a  deep  ravine,  the  Don 
in  mysterious  confab  with  his  compaiiero,  —  an  older 
Indian,  who,  if  he  did  not  share  his  secret,  was  in 
some  manner  connected  with  his  early 
history.  Once  in  the  ravine,  they  scraped 
aside  a  loose  heap  of  stones,  which  had 
been  thrown  there  for  a  purpose,  and 
exposed  a  ruin,  which  our  mineralogist 
examined  and  pronounced,  not  gold,  but 
silver.     Two  hours  later,  the  Doctor  and 


I,  having  nothing  to  do  but  watch  the 


LA   TORTILLERA. 


sportive    flight    of    more    blue    and  gold 

dragon-flies  above  a  pool  of  water,  left  the  Professor  and  the  Don  to 
continue  the  search,  and  returned  to  the  hut.  A  comely  Indian  girl 
was  preparing  corn  for  tortillas,  kneeling  on  the  mud  floor  and 
throwing  all  her  strength  into  the  crushing  of  the  softened  maize 
between  the  stone  metalpillc,  or  rolling-pin,  and  the  flat  rock  called 
the  metatl.  A  small  but  brisk  fire  burned  beside  her,  above  which 
was  an  iron  dish,  which  she  frequently  covered  with  the  kneaded 
meal,  turning  it  over  and  suddenly  whisking  it  off,  a  crisp  and 
palatable  tortilla. 

No  thought  of  gold  disturbed  her  equanimity;  even  the  presence 


HOW   WE  BECAME   MILLIONAIRES  AND   LOST  $40,000,000.         1 05 

of  los  Americanos^  who  consumed  her  corn-cakes  and  forced  upon 
her  this  silver,  hardly  caused  her  to  raise  her  head.  But  what  a 
shapely  head  it  was  ;  its  black,  lustrous  hair  neatly  coiled  about  it  in 
shining  braids !  Her  supple  arms  were  bared  to  the  shoulder  ;  through 
the  loose  texture  of  her  single  garment,  as  she  leaned  over  her  labor, 
her  maidenly  bosom  showed  its  twin  half-globes  of  golden  bronze. 
Such  gentle  eyes  she  had,  such  little  hands,  she  seemed  a  child ; 
pathetic  was  the  picture  that  she  formed  in  that  rude  hut,  with  its 
scant  and  primitive  furniture.  Life  could  have  but  little  amenity  for 
her ;  the  highest  enjoyment  she  could  look  forward  to  would  be  the 
journey  to  the  capital,  —  a  trudge  over  the  hills  of  a  hundred  miles,  a 
day  spent  wandering  open-eyed  in  the  city,  and  the  weary  return. 
Labor  was  her  lot,  from  dawn  till  late  into  the  night ;  her  life  would 
be  chiefly  spent  in  kneeling  before  that  stone  idol  of  her  ancestors,  — 
the  metatl.  Yet  I  never  beheld  more  of  serenity  expressed  in  any 
human  figure  than  in  that  of  this  child-woman,  doomed  to  a  life  of 
unremitting  toil. 

The  shadow  of  the  hill  had  lengthened  itself  beyond  the  ravine 
and  was  crawling  into  the  forest,  where  it  would  lose  itself  and  never 
appear  again  till  to-morrow ;  and  the  chief  and  I  proposed  to  depart 
ere  the  sun,  then  near  the  horizon,  should  have  set,  with  no  light  by 
which  to  thread  a  somewhat  perilous  path.  But  we  were  delayed  by 
the  appearance  of  our  companions,  —  the  mineralogist,  who  was  labor- 
ing under  great  excitement,  and  Don  Celestino,  whose  countenance 
bristled  with  a  certain  ferocious  glee. 

"  We  have  struck  it  at  last !  "  gasped  our  optimistic  companero,  — 
"struck  it  rich  !  The  Don  and  I  have  discovered  a  cliff  of  horn  silver, 
with  at  least  $40,000,000  right  in  sight !  " 

"  Es  verdad  !  "  (It  is  true  !)  chuckled  the  Don  ;  "  nada  meso'menor  !  " 
(not  a  dollar  more  nor  less !) 

I  gasped,  and  turned  in  astonished  silence  to  our  worthy  chief, 
who   remarked  calmly,  and  with   the   air  of  one    who    had  expected 


106  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

nothing  else :  "  Then  we  are  all  millionaires  !  Let 's  go  down  ;  the  sun 
is  setting." 

"  And  I  ?  "  said  the  naturalist,  —  "  do  you  include  me  ?  You 
know  I  came  along  only  to  hunt  butterflies  and  beetles  ;  am  I  a 
millionaire  too  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  include  you,"  he  answered.  "  You  have  in  a  sense  assisted 
at  this  discovery,  and  you  may  consider  yourself  a  millionaire." 

It  was  bewildering.  We  all  mounted  and  rode  back  in  a  daze. 
We  were  now  —  in  prospective  — millionaires.  Our  chief —  I  know 
what  he  was  thinking  of —  would  now  take  that  journey  into  the 
Orient,  for  long  years  held  in  contemplation ;  the  mineralogist  loudly 
proclaimed  that  he  would  ransack  the  entire  Republic  of  Mexico,  and 
bring  to  the  light  of  scientific  investigation  every  ruin  it  contained, 
known  and  unknown  ;  while  the  naturalist  whispered  softly  to  himself 
that  he  would  perhaps  accomplish  that  exploration  of  the  mysterious 
continent,  and  bring  thence  what  his  soul  yearns  after,  —  a  new  bird. 

The  mineralogist  asked  permission  —  which  was  joyfully  granted  — 
to  name  the  first  shaft  in  the  new  mine  after  his  wife,  and  to  have 
the  hammer  with  which  the  precious  specimens  were  chipped  off 
gilded  and  hung  up  in  the  office  of  the  company,  which  is  to  be 
formed  immediately,  —  that  is,  as  soon  as  we  can  get  back  to  a  region 
civilized  enough  for  companies  to  flourish  in,  and  "  denounce  "  our 
property,  and  place  the  stock  on  the  market.  We  now  saw  in  Don 
Celestino  an  heroic  example  of  constancy  to  an  ideal,  and  belief  in 
himself  truly  pathetic.  He  was  no  longer  a  small  and  scraggy 
"  greaser,"  with  capacity  unlimited  for  concealing  our  "  grub ;  "  he  was 
now  Sefior  Don  Celestino  de  Ocote,  a  cabellero  of  undoubted  Castilian 
lineage  ;  and  so  he  gorged  himself  without  exciting  even  the  lifting 
of  an  eyebrow,  and  fed  tidbits  of  our  precious  canned  meat  to  Perrito, 
that  ill-favored  cur  we  had  hitherto  kicked  and  cuffed  at  every  secret 
opportunity,  who  actually  leered  at  us,  as  he  trotted  about,  and  snapped 
viciously  at  the  Doctor's  heels  without  causing  remark. 


HOW   WE  BECAME  MILLIONAIRES  AND  LOST  $40,000,000.         107 

Though  our  couches  were  hard  that  night,  our  dreams  were 
golden.  Our  chief  had  all  to  himself  a  table,  a  foot  too  short ;  the 
naturalist,  a  bench,  which  caused  him  to  lie  half  awake  all  night, 
thinking  himself  in  the  clutches  of  a  modern  Procrustes;  while  the 
mineralogist  and  Don  Celestino  slept  feet  to  feet  upon  a  long  bench, 
their  knees  bent  double  to  afford  sufficient  room. 

Somewhere  about  the  middle  of  the  night,  when  the  bats  were  softly 
whirring  about  the  room,  the  cockroaches  rustling  on  the  floor,  and 
the  centipedes  crawling  out  from  the  rotten  woodwork  and  thatch,  the 
naturalist  heard  a  sudden  rasping  sound  in  the  direction  of  that 
double  couch,  followed  by  a  heavy  fall,  and  a  wicked  exclamation  in 
the   Don's  gruffest  tones. 

We  all  had  retired,  as  usual,  with  our  garments  girt  about  us  and 
our  arms  at  hand;  the  naturalist  (that  is,  myself),  in  fact,  slept  in  his 
sarape,  his  head  through  the  central  slit,  and  a  belt,  containing 
revolver  and  carving-knife,  drawn  tightly  round  the  waist.  He  had 
grown  so  accustomed  to  feeling  the  pressure  of  the  revolver  on  his 
loins  that  he  would  have  been  uncomfortable  without  it.  Hearing 
the  strident  snore  of  Celestino  interrupted  by  his  harsher  oath,  he 
instinctively  clapped  his  hand  upon  his  belt,  where  he  could  grasp 
the  ivory  handle  of  the  cuchillo  and  have  a  thumb  and  finger  on 
the  pistole. 

Scuffling  ensued,  which  might  have  been  the  Doctor  and  the 
Mexican  in  deadly  strife,  but  which  a  hastily  lighted  candle  revealed 
to  be  the  stranger  trying  to  regain  his  feet.  Profuse  apologies  fol- 
lowed from  the  Doctor,  who  had  been  the  cause  of  the  mishap  ;  for 
it  seems  that  he  had  gathered  up  his  legs  in  his  sleep  and  had  sud- 
denly straightened  them  out,  thereby  shunting  the  noble  Castilian  off 
the  bench  upon  the  floor  with  a  velocity  that  nearly  drove  his  head 
through  the  mud-plastered  wall  of  the  hut. 

Like  Abdallah  in  the  "  Arabian  Nights,"  he  had  been  building 
castles  —  of  horn  silver;  he  had  been  elected  president  of  the  Mali- 


IOS  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

naltepec-Montezuma  Horn-Silver  Gold-Washing,  Mining  and  Smelt- 
ing Company ;  he  sat  in  the  inner  room  of  the  New  York  office,  at 
a  rosewood  desk,  above  which  hung  the  hammer  he  had  nicked  the 
cliff  with,  gleaming  in  a  gilded  coat ;  a  man  approached  with  a  propo- 
sition to  water  the  stock  of  the  company  to  ten  millions  ;  and  it  was 
at  this  moment,  filled  with  an  indignation  more  than  virtuous,  that  the 
Doctor  drew  back  his  foot  and  let  it  fly,  with  "  I  spurn  your  base 
offer  !  "  and  projected  our  haughty  Don  into  space.  We  feared  that, 
following  out  the  Abdallah  simile,  he  had  smashed  our  wares  in  kick- 
ing Celestino ;  but  that  worthy  cared  not  for  kicks,  so  his  stomach  was 
filled,  and  at  breakfast  satiated  himself  with  good  things  until  his 
little  black  eyes  fairlv  stood  out  beneath  his  beetling  brows. 

It  was  cool  every  morning,  though  hot  at  mid-day,  and  rainy  after- 
noons and  evenings,  in  that  anomalous  Malinal tepee.  As  the  sun 
rose,  the  chief  and  I  wandered  down  to  the  river  and  bathed  in  a 
quiet  pool  at  the  base  of  a  cliff,  without  even  a  word  of  our  newly 
acquired  fortune.  Being  a  millionaire  is  n't  such  a  very  oppressive 
fact,  after  all,  provided  you  are  not  burdened  with  the  care  of  the 
money  ! 

We  followed  the  Don,  that  forenoon,  into  another  secluded  dis- 
trict, several  leagues  away,  where  he  said  the  precious  metal  was 
abundant,  but  where  we  saw  neither  trace  nor  sign.  But  while  he 
was  otherwise  looking  for  gold,  I  secured  some  fine  butterflies ;  so  our 
journey  was  not  wholly  profitless.  On  our  way  back  a  rabbit  crossed 
our  path,  which  the  Don  declared  an  excellent  sign,  —  a  sign  of  gold  ; 
and  this  led  him  on  to  whisper  to  us,  in  a  casual  way,  of  a  robber's  cave 
beneath  the  cliffs  of  the  "  Convent,"  containing  without  doubt  at  least 
a  million  dollars.  As  he  was  the  only  person  possessing  that  secret, 
also,  our  confidence  in  him  began  to  cool.  A  suggestion  that  he  may 
be  a  fraud  acts  as  a  little  leaven  in  the  mind  of  the  mineralogist, 
and  he  thinks  and  thinks,  all  to  himself,  but  at  last  imparts  to  us  the 
result  of  his  cogitations. 


HOW   WE  BECAME  MILLIONAIRES  AND  LOST  $40,000,000.  m 

"  Boys,"  he  at  last  broke  forth,  "  I  have  a  horrible  suspicion  that 
the  ore  we  discovered  yesterday  may  not  be  horn  silver,  but — " 

We  rein  up  our  horses  with  a  jerk,  and  await  with  suspense  his 
concluding  words, — 

"  —  but  only  hornblende,  which,  if  verified,  reduces  us  at  once  from 
affluence  to  comparative  poverty.  In  facts  if  so,  we  are  just  forty 
million  dollars  out  of  pocket!" 

Alas  for  the  vanity  of  human  hopes !  one  moment  a  millionaire, 
the  next — all  through  the  whim  of  a  fellow-creature  —  toppled  down 
from  the  pinnacle  of  ambition  and  grovelling  in  the  dust  of  poverty! 

That  same  "  horrible  suspicion "  had  entered  the  brain  of  the 
naturalist  the  day  before ;  but  as  he  was  ever  being  hooted  at  as  a 
pessimist  by  the  rest  of  the  party,  he  allowed  them  to  revel  in  the 
pictures  their  fancies  painted  unmolested.  But  he  was  in  no  whit 
disappointed,  —  perhaps  he  even  took  a  grim  pleasure  in  the  lofty 
tumble  of  his  brother  optimists,  —  and  he  gayly  swung  his  butterfly- 
net,  "as  they  rode  down  the  steeps  on  their  sure-footed  horses,  gather- 
ing in  many  a  specimen,  which  he  laid  away  in  its  paper  tomb,  without 
a  sigh  for  the  golden  butterfly  that  had  fluttered  for  a  moment  before 
his  eyes,  and  then  passed  out  of  sight  forever. 

We  began  to  look  upon  Don  Celestino  as  a  traitor,  who  clave  to 
us  for  no  reason  except  for  the  pleasure  of  our  society ;  but  he  re- 
peated and  asseverated  that  he  had  once  assayed  that  ore  and  it 
"  panned  out  rich."  Then  the  jefe  of  the  village  came  secretly  and 
told  us  that  there  was  a  man  of  our  color,  over  behind  the  "  Convent," 
—  un  hombre  bianco,  —  who  had  a  furnace  for  smelting  the  lead 
ore  he  dug  out  of  the  hills ;  and  by  going  to  him  we  could  verify  our 
specimens. 

The  trail  to  the  valley  where  resided  the  only  other  man  of  our 
complexion  in  this  region  lay  beneath  the  great  red-walled  mesa, 
under  a  high,  isolated  shaft  of  rock  called  the  "  Chimney,"  and  down 
a  steep  descent  to  a  narrow  pass  filled  with  acacia  shrubs,  half  the 


112  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 

time  in  the  bed  of  a  noisy  stream,  and  at  the  base  of  vast  perpendicu- 
lar cliffs,  full  of  caves,  which  might  have  been  formerly  the  homes  of 
the  robbers  whose  plunder  Don  Celestino  had  offered  to  show  us. 
Two  hours  after  leaving  camp  we  passed  over  a  sharp  spur  of  the 
hills,  and  plunged  into  a  valley  with  green  slopes  and  a  river  cleaving 
it  in  twain,  which  had  left  a  strip  of  alluvial  soil  on  one  side,  where 
the  owner  of  this  secluded  spot  had  built  a  house  and  rude  reduction 
works.  The  proprietor  was  a  Frenchman,  who  welcomed  us  warmly, 
despite  his  amazement  at  the  sight  of  strangers  ;  and  when  he  learned 
that  we  wished  to  test  the  quality  of  ores,  he  ordered  an  Indian  to 
pulverize  a  portion  carefully  and  then  wash  it  in  an  earthen  dish. 
We  gathered  anxiously  around,  as  this  process  was  going  on  ;  and 
when  the  stolid  Indian's  verdict  of  "  Nothing  "  {No  hay  nada)  was 
given,  we  demanded  another  washing,  and  still  another,  until  four 
successive  trials  had  been  made,  with  the  same  discouraging  result. 
But  to  convince  us  finally,  our  good  friend  started  the  fires  in  his 
furnace,  and  tested  our  "  find  "  in  the  crucible,  with  the  same  result, 
—  nada    (nothing)  ! 

The  Ions  strain  over,  we  had  time  to  examine  our  surroundings. 
We  found  our  host  to  be  an  ingenious  man,  for  he  had  utilized  the 
wind  generated  by  the  rushing  of  the  water  over  the  dam  to  work  the 
furnace  bellows  ;  and  enterprising,  for  he  had  lost  all  his  works  by 
fire,  six  months  before,  and  had  constructed  new  ones. 

At  dinner,  which  was  finely  cooked  and  served,  he  told  us  some- 
thins;  of  his  life.  He  had  come  to  Mexico  with  the  French  armv,  had 
become  separated  somehow  from  his  comrades,  when  they  returned, 
and  had  lived  in  this  place  eighteen  years,  hemmed  in  from  the  so- 
ciety of  his  kind  by  those  inexorable  hills.  It  was  then  ten  years 
since  he  had  visited  the  only  city  in  the  State,  and  we  were  the  only 
strangers  who  had  reached  him,  save  the  aira,  who  had  been  there 
once.  He  had,  he  laughingly  told  us,  improved  upon  poor  Robinson 
Crusoe,  by  taking  to  his  bosom  a  fair  Indian  maid,  when  he  came  here, 


HOW  WE  BECAME  MILLIONAIRES  AND  LOST  $40,000,000.  I  13 

by  whom  he  had  several  children,  —  graceful,  tan-colored  youngsters, 
who  sported  in  the  stream,  and  shyly  approached  us  only  as  we  —  the 
first  strangers  they  had  ever  seen  —  were  ready  to  depart.  We  were 
charmed  with  the  old  man's  simplicity ;  and  the  mineralogist  espe- 
cially, who  was  of  French  extraction,  or  rather  of  mingled  Gallic  and 
Celtic  blood,  was  so  delighted  that  he  seriously  proposed  to  us  to 
abandon  the  world,  induce  the  hermit  to  share  with  us  his  charming 
valley,  and  here  rest.  He  capered  about  like  a  kid  of  the  mountains, 
singing,  — 

"  I  will  take  some  savage  woman,  she  shall  rear  my  dusky  race." 

"  Come,  old  man,"  he  said  to  our  chief,  "  let 's  settle  here ;  the 
Malinaltepecanos  have  in  their  tribe  many  fair  though  dusky  maidens, 
whom  it  were  an  honor  to  bestow  upon  us." 

The  pseudo-millionaire  checked  him  sternly,  — 

"  '  Mated  with  a  squalid  savage  !  —  what  to  me  were  sun  or  clime  ?  — 
I  the  heir  of  all  the  ages,  in  the  foremost  files  of  time  ? ' 

As  for  you,  would  Mrs.  A.  take  kindly  to  such  an  arrangement?" 

The  mineralogist's  jaw  fell  ;  he  sat  down  on  a  rock  and  buried  his 
face  in  his  hands.     When  it  emerged,  it  had  a  hopeful  look. 

"  At  all  events,  old  fellow,  let 's  one  of  us  be  a  recluse.  An  unkind 
fate  has  deprived  me  of  the  opportunity,  but  either  you  or  the  natural- 
ist could  do  the  thing  up  brown  ;  and  I  have  an  idea  that  in  no  other 
way  can  we  get  at  the  secret  of  the  hidden  mine:  it  is  the  only  way 
left,  —  marry  a  daughter  of  the  presidente,  get  adopted  into  the  tribe, 
and  gradually,  in  the  course  of  years,  obtain  the  whole  story.  On 
second  thought,  the  naturalist 's  the  man ;  he 's  young,  vigorous, 
devoted  to  pursuits  that  he  can  follow  right  here ;  and  moreover  he 
has  a  sneaking  inclination  toward  the  nut-brown  maids.  I  saw  him, 
yesterday,  viewing  that  supple-jointed  tortillcra  with  more  than  a 
critics  gaze.  Let  him  take  the  savage  woman,  and  let  him  become 
the  recluse." 


114  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

But  the  naturalist  protested.  He  did  n't  want  any  savage  woman, 
and  was  n't  yearning  to  rear  any  race,  dusky  or  otherwise ;  he  was 
willing  to  follow  the  chief  even  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth, 
taking  his  enjoyment  as  he  went  along  from  the  novelty  of  the  shift- 
ing scenes;  but  when  the  panorama  ceased  to  unroll  and  the  music 
stopped,  he  knew  he  should  feel  utterly  miserable  ;  so  the  mineralo- 
gist could  plan  for  himself,  —  stay  if  he  liked,  —  and  he  would  take 
any  message  he  chose  to  send  to  his  wife. 

The  chief  looked  his  approval,  and  by  the  time  the  horses  were 
saddled  the  Doctor  had  conceived  another  notion  ;  so  the  matter  was 
dropped. 

I  do  not  think  our  eremite  took  more  pleasure  in  his  valley  than 
Crusoe  on  his  island,  for  he  admitted  that  the  solitude  was  at  times 
oppressive;  yet  he  claimed  to  be  perfectly  happy  —  for  when  he  was 
thirsty  he  drank,  when  hungry  he  ate,  when  sleepy  he  slept,  and  when 
he  wanted  money  he  ordered  the  Indians  to  dig  in  the  mine  for  the 
ore,  which  he  smelted  and  sold. 

He  may  have  been  happy,  he  seemed  contented;  but  I  observed,  as 
we  rode  over  the  ridge,  on  our  return,  and  halted  a  moment  to  wave 
an  adieu,  that  he  looked  after  us  very  wistfully,  and  brushed  his  sleeve 
across  his  eyes  before  his  hand  fell  from  the  salute  he  was  wafting  us. 

As  we  reached  the  hut  allotted  to  us  in  the  village,  and  while 
Don  Santos  was  removing  the  saddles  from  our  tired  horses,  the  chief 
said  to  me,  standing  with  bared  head  beneath  a  giant  walnut-tree,  — 

"  We  will  now  depart  ;  traditions,  chronicles,  threats  even,  and 
omens  have  signified  nothing  at  all.  The  mine  can't  be  found,  —  at 
least,  not  here.  Possessed  of  but  small  store  of  the  world's  goods,  we 
came  into  this  valley  ;  we  leave  it  even  poorer  than  we  came.  Vamo- 
nos,  — let  us  go  !  " 

Still,  we  all  were  loath  to  part  from  these  people  of  Malinaltepec, 
whose  only  fault  was  that  they  held  a  secret  of  priceless  value  which 
they  refused  to  divulge.     Many  of  the  three  or  four  hundred  Indians 


HOW  WE   BECAME   MILLIONAIRES  AND   LOST  $40,000,000. 


115 


living  here  were  camping  in  their  fields,  in  their  milpas,  in  little  huts, 
until  the  harvest-time.  They  own  their  land  in  common,  as  do 
most  of  the  Mexican  Indians,  cultivating  it  together,  and  sharino- 
the  fruits  of  their  toil.  It  was  owing  to  a  reactionary  Spanish  law  of 
some  two  centuries  ago  that  the  Mexican  Indian  was  secured  in 
possession  of  a  little  of  the  soil  once  held  by  his  ancestors.  As  the 
Spaniards  at  first  feared  to  settle  in  regions  remote  from  cities,  and 
the  forest  and  the  mountain  lands  were  left  to  the  Indian,  he  has  held 
virtual  possession  of  them  since  the  Conquest;  even  as  the  West 
Indian  Negro  claims  the  hill  and  woody  section  of  plantations  for  the 
cultivation  of  his  yam  and  banana  crops.  And  so  these  Serranos, 
with  more  land  than  they  care  to  till,  with  few  desires  they  cannot 
gratify,  and  only  burdened  by  light  taxes,  seem  as  contented  as  it  is 
possible  for  human  beings  to  be. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THAT   GOLDEN   BUTTERFLY. 

Don  Celestino  disappears.  —  A  Vesper  Stroll.  —  A  Disappointed  Doctor.  —  The 
Golden  Ant-hill.  —  Fall  from  a  Cliff.  —  Don  Fenokio's  Daughters.  —  Where 
Native  Gold  is  found.  —Mines  of  Santa  Ana.  —  In  a  Hotel  once  more. — 
Mexico  a  Horn  of  Plenty.  —  On  the  Wrong  Track  all  the  Time.  —  Another 
Journey  projected. 

HEN    the    villagers    learned    we    were  going,   they 
seemed    very    sorry,    and    sent    us    pressing    mes- 
sages   to    remain,    with    presents    of    plums    and 
oranges.     As  evening  approached,  an   Indian  in  a 
ragged  frock  came  and  rang  the  big  bell  hanging 
underneath  the  thatched  scaffolding,  for  oracion,  or 
evening    prayer;    and    a    woman   placed    a    fresh 
bunch  of  flowers  before   the    Virgin's    image.     Then,  in    peace   and 
quietness,  the  day  went  out,  and  deep  darkness  settled  about  us  all, 
buried  in  the  orange-groves  of  that  bit  of  tierra  caliente. 

Our  recreant  guide,  Don  Celestino,  departed  before  we  were  awake, 
in  the  gray  dawn  of  the  ensuing  morning.  While  we  were  rubbing 
our  dim  eyes  and  wondering  what  his  motive  was,  a  friend  appeared, 
—  no  less  a  personage  than  the  worthy  comandante  of  Quiotepec, 
Don  Augustino  Castillo,  —  and  supplied  material  for  another  chapter 
of  the  romance.  He  had  heard  of  our  unsuccessful  assays,  and  had 
mounted  his  jackass  in  hot  haste,  riding  down  from  his  eyry  and 
swimming  the  yellow-flooded  Rio  Grande  just  as  daylight  broke. 
For  he  had  found  out  at  last  that  though  all  the  people  knew  of  the 
mine,  but  one  family  knew  its  location.  With  the  head  of  this  family, 
a  stalwart  young  Indian,   Don  Augustino  wrestled  manfully,  until  he 


IX    THE    MINES. 


THA  T  GOLDEN  B  UTTERFL 1  \ 


IIQ 


promised  to  take  us  to  the  place,  if  the  people  were  willing.  At  first 
they  were  not ;  but  the  comandante  assembled  them  and  harangued 
them  long  and  earnestly,  in  their  guttural  language,  telling  them 
what  fools  they  were  for  denying  to  these  scnorcs  Americanos  the 
region  of  gold,  when  the  working  of  the  mines,  for  which  they 
had  not  capital  enough,  would  not  only  enrich  them,  but  the  last 
mothers  son  of  them,  down  to  the  tenth  generation.  This  brought 
them  around,  and  we  gradually  got  at  the  discovery  of  the  mine,  and 
Celestino's  connection   with  it. 

The  grandfather  of  the  present  possessor  of  the  secret  made  the 
discovery  of  the  vein  while  working  in  his  milpa,  planting  maguey, 
some  fifty  years  ago  ;  and  a  few  years  after  took  specimens  of  the  ore 
to  Don  Celestino,  who  was  then  working  at  his  trade  as  a  silversmith  at 
Ixtlan.  The  Don  took  the  specimens  to  Oaxaca  for  assay,  giving  out 
that  they  had  been  found  by  his  servant ;  at  which  the  Indian  took 
umbrage,  being  a  free  and  independent  man,  refused  to  show  him  the 
mine,  stopped  it  up,  and  obliterated  all  traces  of  his  workings. 

But  the  Indian  was  superstitious,  being  a  good  Catholic,  and 
placed  some  of  the  richest  lumps  before  the  wooden  image  of  the 
Malinaltepec  Virgin,  to  gain  her  approbation  ;  these  Celestino  stole, 
and  with  them  had  gladdened  the  eyes  of  various  prospecters,  in- 
cluding ourselves,  for  at  least  twoscore  years.  He  it  was  who  gave 
such  information  to  the  Governor  of  Oaxaca  and  to  General  Her- 
nandez as  led  them  to  invade  Malinaltepec,  twenty  "years  ago,  with  a 
force  of  soldiers,  and  threaten  the  president  until  he  conducted  them 
to  a  vein;  but  it  proved  to  be  not  the  right  one,  —  not  good  for  any 
thing  at  all.  The  secret  remained  with  the  old  Indian,  who  fled  to 
the  forest  and  stayed  there  while  the  soldiers  were  searching.  When 
he  died  he  described  the  place  in  his  last  testament  and  his  son  like- 
wise handed  it  down,  without  further  examination,  to  the  young 
Indian. 

Thanks  to  Don  Augustino,  this  man  now  stood  ready  to  conduct 


120  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF  TREASURE. 

us  to  the  spot,  provided  that  Celestino  should  have  no  share  in  the 
spoils ;  for  the  Indian  of  the  Sierra  hates  treachery,  and  all  the 
people,  after  a  long  palaver,  finally  gave  their  consent. 

During  negotiations  we  had  remained  in  hiding  at  Quiotepec ; 
and  when  Don  Augustino  returned  with  tidings  of  victory,  we  hied 
ourselves  to  the  valley  again.  It  was  Sunday,  quiet  and  serene;  for 
every  head  of  a  family  in  the  village  was  busilv  engaged  in  getting 
himself  into  a  state  of  inebriety.  The  president  himself —  a  small  and 
ill-conditioned  Indian, .but  rejoicing  in  a  name  long  enough  to  make 
up  for  his  lack  of  personal  attractions,  even  the  chief  of  the  village, 
Senor  Don  Jose  Maria  Incarnacion  Salinas  de  Garcia  —  was  already 
unsteady  on  his  pins,  as  he  invited  us  into  his  hut  to  speed  us  on 
our  way  with  a  drink  of  fiery  mescal. 

Gladsomely  we  urged  our  horses  up  the  steeps  to  the  hut  on  the 
far  hillside  where  lived  the  widow  of  the  man  who  once  knew,  with  his 
son  and  daughter.  The  maiden  proved  to  be  the  same  one  we  had 
seen  before,  grinding  corn  in  the  twilight;  and  she  was  wearily  grind- 
ing now,  —  this  heiress  to  the  undeveloped  mine.  With  an  alacrity 
that  was  in  itself  suspicious,  the  Indian  guided  us  to  a  hole  in  the 
ground  in  the  near  forest,  shielded  by  an  overhanging  rock  from 
curious  observation,  and  indicated  that  as  the  opening  to  the  vagrant 
vein.  And  while  my  companions  dug  and  delved,  and  chipped  off 
pieces  of  the  rock,  I  sat  on  an  outcropping  ledge  in  the  shade,  and  looked 
out  over  the  valleys  and  hills  and  the  distant  mountains  of  Vera 
Cruz,  and  thought  upon  the  past, — of  the  gold  that  the  comrades  of 
Cortez  undoubtedly  obtained  in  this  region,  and  of  the  buen  retii'o 
that  the  great  captain  ordered  to  be  constructed  here,  with  its  pleasure- 
house,  its  artificial  ponds  stocked  with  fish,  and  its  gardens  of  cacao- 
trees. 

As  the  red  sun  dropped  down  upon  the  blue  hills  toward  the 
Gulf,  like  a  meteor,  falling  directly  upon  the  Tabasco  region,  — 
the  home   of  Malinche,  Indian   princess  and  mistress  of  Cortez,  —  the 


THAT  GOLDEN  BUTTERFLY.  121 

miners  emerged  from  their  cavern  with  sacks  full  of  specimens,  and 
we  slowly  walked  down  to  the  hut  and  the  horses. 

As  the  chief  and  I  took  a  vesper  stroll  among  the  ruins  of  the 
church,   I   took  occasion  to  ask  him,  "  What  luck  ?  " 

He  replied  moodily,  "  We  can  tell  better  when  we  find  a  genuine 
miner  and   get  the  rock  tested." 

"  Another  '  horrible  suspicion  '  ?  "  I  questioned  carelessly,  making  a 
swoop  with  my  butterfly-net  at  a  large  humming-bird  moth  hovering 
over  some  purple  night-flowers. 

He  nodded  his  head  gloomily. 

"  It  might  be  better  for  us  if  the  mineralogist  knew  a  nugget  from 
a  lump  of  iron  pyrites,   might  n't  it  ?  " 

He  nodded  again ;  then  said  after  a  pause,  "  We  11  saddle  up  to- 
morrow, and  take  the  back  trail." 

It  was  just  before  retiring-hour  that  the  mineralogist  recollected  a 
commission  he  had  received  from  the  Governor  of  the  State.  He  had 
been  told  that  the  people  of  Mai inal tepee  were  acute  sufferers  from 
chills  and  fever,  and  had  brought  along  two  hundred  quinine  pills, 
enough  to  bombard  the  whole  community.  Luckily  remembering  his 
charge,  he  summoned  the  presidente  early  next  morning,  and  persuaded 
him  to  announce  to  the  people  that  a  physician  was  among  them,  a 
renowned  medico,  who  could  cure  all  their  ills,  and  urged  him  at  once 
to  trot  out  all  his  sick;  he  would  cure  them  for  nothing,  —  for  the 
universal  love   of  God  {pot  el  atnor  de  Dios). 

And  so  they  came,  as  we  were  at  breakfast,  —  an  old  woman  with  a 
graveyard  cough,  a  girl  with  an  incurable  ulcer,  a  man  with  sciatica, 
another  with  paralysis  of  one  arm,  a  boy  with  a  sore  arm,  but  never  a 
one  with  fever.  As  he  had  no  medicine  for  anything  but  fever,  our 
physician  acquired  no  prestige  among  those  people  ;  he  was  furious,  in 
truth,  and  denounced  them  before  their  faces  as  a  set  of  ingrates,  be- 
coming mollified  only  at  the  very  last,  when  an  'old,  fever-smitten  man 
appeared,  whom  he  stuffed  so  full  of  pills  that  there  was  little  danger  of 
his  having  another  shake  this  side  the  other  world. 


122  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

We  departed  amid  the  lamentations  of  the  people,  who  were  just 
beginning  to  appreciate  our  worth.  They  would  have  given  us  the 
Padres  hut  as  a  permanent  position  if  we  would  have  stayed ;  but 
though  the  temptation  was  strong,  we  did  not  yield  to  the  inclination, 
and  slept  that  night  on  the  familiar  benches  of  the  house  of  Don 
Augustino,  at   Quiotepec. 

A  cloud  hung  above  us  on  the  journey  back,  though  we  put  on  our 
best  faces  ;  for  we  were  not  only  leaving  behind  us  what  had  promised 
to  be  Eldorado,  but  were  parting  forever  from  genuinely  honest 
friends,  many  of  whom  had  crept  into  our  hearts.  Don  Santos  and 
his  horses  seemed  the  only  happy  ones,  for  they  were  worn  thin  with 
hard  work,  and  looked  forward  to  a  happy  week  of  rest  at  Oaxaca. 
The  chiefs  call  for  tequilla  and  mescal  exhausted  the  supply  along  the 
route,  and  it  was  in  a  dejected  condition  that  we  rode  up  to  the 
widow's  door  in  Ixtlan  one  night,  and  requested  permission  to  rest 
there  till  morning.  Her  sympathy  was  unbounded,  and  she  did  every- 
thing in  her  power  to  alleviate  our  distresses  of  mind  and  body.  She 
still  had  faith  in  the  hidden  mine,  and  declared  that  we  had  been 
duped,  that  the   Indians  had  conducted  us  to  the  wrong  spot. 

"  Senores"  she  said  to  us  that  evening,  "there  is  gold  there, indeed  ; 
you  must  return  and  find  it.  Rest  awhile  here,  recuperate,  take  with 
you  a  miner  who  knows  the  yellow  metal  in  the  vein,  and  return.  Gold 
has  been  found  there,  Seiiores,  I  give  you  my  word.  In  the  archives 
of  this  town  is  the  sworn  statement  of  a  Spaniard  who  has  visited  the 
place  himself.  Many  years  ago,  one  of  our  citizens  befriended  an  In- 
dian of  Malinaltepec ;  he  took  him  into  the  Sierras,  blindfolded,  and 
when  they  returned  it  was  with  four  ^rn?-loads  of  sand  containing 
gold.  The  Spaniard  took  it  to  Mexico,  to  the  capital ;  and  it  assayed 
so  rich  that  the  Government  sent  a  squad  of  one  hundred  cavalry  in 
search  of  the  locality.  But  the  Indian  hid  himself  in  the  mountains 
till  they  were  gone,  and  the  secret  still  remains  with  him.  And  did  I 
tell  you  of  the  Indian  Socorro,  over  here  in  the  next  valley,  who  lived 


THAT   GOLDEN  BUTTERFLY. 


12 


"%»* 


a  lifetime  —  yes,  more  than  forty  years  —  on  the  grains  of  gold 
that  the  ants,  those  little  insects  of  the  earth,  brought  to  the 
surface  ?  This  is  true,  my  friends,  and  you  must  go  to  Socorro 
and  see  the  gold-mines  that  were  brought  to  light  by  the  little 
ants. 

As  Socorro  was  but  a  day's  journey  out  of  our  road,  we  concluded 
to  pay  it  a  visit,  and  reached  it  the  next  noon,  travelling  over  a  rugged 
road.  The  mines  were  closed,  and 
the  manager  was  engaged  in  cele- 
brating the  marriage  of  his  son,  a 
stupid-looking  youth  of  twenty,  with 
a  pretty  Mestizo,  about  seventeen 
years  old.  The  festivities  were  at 
their  height,  and  we  were  cordially 
invited  to  join  them,  —  an  invitation 
which  aroused  the  hitherto  lethargic 
mineralogist,  who  at  once  assumed 
full  direction  of  the  wedding-feast. 

Further  search  the  next  day  re- 
vealed to  us  that  the  mines  were  not 
then  working,  that  they  had  been 
run  at  a  loss  for  a  year  or  more,  but 
that  we  could  get  more  informa- 
tion from   a  gentleman   who   lived 

beyond  the  valley,  Don  Pascual  Fenokio,  the  owner  of  several  mines. 
This  was  all  a  hill  country  we  were  in,  and  the  trail  beyond  was  nar- 
row and  difficult.  This  I  particularly  remember  from  a  fall  I  got,  the 
fir.^t  one  of  the  journey,  from  my  horse.  It  was  not  the  poor  caballds 
fault,  nor  altogether  mine.  We  were  riding  along  a  shelf  cut  out  of 
a  high  cliff,  a  narrow  ledge,  beneath  which  a  precipitous  bank  fell 
straight  to  a  brawling  stream,  perhaps  sixty  feet  below.  My  black 
mare  seemed  to  think  the  path  insecure,  and  crowded  me  against  the 


A   MESTIZA   GIRL. 


124  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

perpendicular  wall,  jamming  my  leg  so  severely  that  without  a  thought 
as  to  consequences  I  pulled  her  head  savagely  to  the  right.  I  had  not 
counted  upon  the  cruel  Mexican  bit  in  her  mouth,  —  a  veritable  in- 
strument of  torture,  with  its  crooked  tongue-piece  and  pendent  bits  of 
iron.  The  pain  was  such  that  she  jumped  sidewise  instantly,  and  I 
found  myself  aground  at  once.  The  mineralogist  yelled  ;  the  chief 
halted  as  if  stupefied ;  but  the  mare  and  myself  regained  our  com- 
posure after  the  first  shock,  and  soon  righted  ourselves.  As  she 
had  jumped  into  a  hole  just  level  with  her  back,  I  had  not  far  to 
fall ;  but  another  foot  to  the  right  would  have  carried  us  rolling  down 
the  bank. 

"  You  chose  a  good  spot  for  your  exhibition,1'  said  the  chief,  as  he 
spurred  past.  "  There  is  n't  another  place  in  the  trail  so  wide  as  this. 
But  the  next  time  you  light,  get  off  on  the  left  side  ;  that  is  the  cus- 
tomary one  taken   in   Mexico." 

My  good  beast  was  uninjured,  and,  remounting,  I  followed  my 
companions  to  the  house  of  Don  Fenokio,  buried  in  a  little  valley 
formed  by  a  lateral  tributary  to  the  principal  river  of  the  district. 

The  Don,  a  stalwart  man  of  about  forty-five,  with  a  kindly  face 
half  hidden  by  a  beard,  more  resembled  a  Scotchman  than  a  Mexican; 
he  spoke  English  with  a  correct  accent,  being  the  first  gente  de  razon 
(man  of  reason)  we  had  found  in  a  fortnight's  ride  who  addressed  us 
in  our  own  tongue.  His  father,  in  fact,  was  an  Englishman,  —  one  of  a 
colony  planted  here  fifty  years  ago,  sent  out  to  work  the  mines.  He 
had  with  him  a  most  charming  family  of  daughters,  neat  of  manner 
and  gentle-voiced,  who  entertained  us  delightfully  with  music  and 
conversation,  until  we  were  more  than  half  persuaded  that  we  had 
found  at  last  the  fair  senoritas  about  whom  the  poet  perpetually  raves. 
Don  Fenokio  frankly  informed  us  of  the  condition  of  the  mines  of  the 
State  of  Oaxaca,  the  richest  of  which  were  clustered  almost  in  sight  of 
his  house.  There  is  comparatively  little  gold  in  Mexico;  all  the  great 
mines  of   the  central   region  and  the  northwest  —  those  of   Tachuca, 


THAT  GOLDEN  BUTTERFLY. 


125 


Guanajuato,  Zacatecas,  and  Chihuahua  —  being  of  silver,  the  ore  of 
low  grade,  and  very  difficult  and  expensive  to  work.  In  very  low 
localities  —  such  as  the  desert  region  of  Lower  California,  certain  ex- 
hausted placers  in  Senora,  and  perhaps  in  or  near  the  old  district  of 
Tasco,  State  of  Guerrero,  which  were  worked  by  the  Aztecs,  before 
Spanish  possession  —  as  well  as  in  Oaxaca,  has  gold  been  found.  And 
while  the  silver  lies  in  masses,  or  is  disseminated  in  fine  threads  that 
ramify  the  vast  chain  of  the  Sierra  Madre,  —  veins  that  have  been  fol- 
lowed, some  of  them,  for  over  three  hundred  years,  —  the  gold  is  found  in 
pockets  in  the  granite  rocks  of  Oaxaca,  without  any  superficial  indica- 
tions that  can  be  positively  relied   upon. 

On  the  borders  of  the  great  State  of  Oaxaca,  which  is  many 
leagues  in  extent,  the  Sierra  Madre  is  depressed,  breaking  up  into 
various  Cordilleras  which  sink,  at  the  isthmus  of  Tehuantepec,  into 
insignificant  hills.  These  Sierras,  situated  mostly  in  Oaxaca,  yield 
more  gold  than  any  other  section  of  the  country ;  and  it  is  to  them 

—  hallowed  as  they  are  by  traditions  of  Eldorado,  ancient  and  modern 

—  that  Mexico  looks  for  her  future  supply  of  el  oro  (the  yellow 
gold). 

A  mile  above  Don  Fenokio's  reduction  works  are  those  of  a 
formerly  famous  mine,  the  Cinco  Senores,  poor  now,  and  not  paying 
expenses.  When  the  French  soldiers  were  here,  during  their  invasion 
of  Mexico,  plundering  everything  they  could  find,  they  espied  a  heap 
of  litharge,  —  which  was,  of  course,  a  perfectly  useless  product  for 
them,  —  and  mistook  it  for  gold.  Packing  their  knapsacks  full  of  it, 
they  are  said  to  have  carried  it  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  above  two  hun- 
dred miles,  before  discovering  their  mistake. 

Leaving  with  regret  Don  Fenokio  and  his  interesting  family,  we 
posted  on  for  the  cotton-mills  of  Xia,  which  we  had  first  seen  in  our 
first  day  in  the  hills.  We  rode  along  the  hill-crests ;  beneath  us  we 
could  see  the  ruins  of  an  old  settlement,  the  reduction  works  of  Santa 


126  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

Ana,  the  headquarters  of  the  English  company  that  ventured  in  this 
region  nearly  sixty  years  ago.  All  is  in  a  state  of  decay,  bananas  and 
sugar-cane  growing  where  once  the  circling  mules  trod  the  silver  paste 
in  the  patio;  yet  the  company  that  erected  the  massive  walls  and  sank 
the  shafts  in  the  mountains  expended  $500,000  in  this  State  alone. 
We  met  one  of  the  old  miners,  a  few  days  later,  who  told  us  of  those 
flush  times  with  a  sparkle  in  his  eye :  — 

"  Ah,  gentlemen,  those  were  rich  times,  indeed ;  money  in  plenty, 
and  little  labor.  Gold  ?  St,  Senores,  in  abundance,  and  without  the 
trouble  of  digging!  Oh,  no!  we  didn't  get  it  out  of  the  mines,  we 
poured  it  into  them.  No,  indeed,  all  our  gold  came  from  England; 
we  never  sent  any  back.  Somebody  in  England  must  have  lost 
money   in   that  venture;  but  it  wasn't  the   miners." 

It  was  dark  bv  the  time  we  reached  the  ridge  above  Xia  vallev, 
and  we  lost  the  trail  leading  into  it,  groping  our  way  through  thick 
scrub  in  a  terrible  thunder-storm.  The  barking  of  some  watchful 
dogs,  who  would  have  caused  it  to  fare  hard  with  us  had  we  been 
afoot,  guided  us  to  the  factory,  and  we  arrived  there  in  a  drenched 
condition,  notwithstanding  our  mangas  de  agua,  or  rubber  cloaks. 
The  jolly  engineer — he  who  had  described  his  adventures  in  gold- 
hunting  on  Orizaba  Mountain  —  entertained  us  that  night,  and  in  the 
morning:  we  rode  over  the  hills  to  Oaxaca.  Not  a  man  we  met  on 
that  journey  have  I  seen  since,  though  we  later  heard  that  the  fair 
Soledacl  was  awaiting  the  photographs  of  the  Americanos  with 
impatience. 

Don  Fenokio,  it  is  true,  as  representative  to  Congress,  visited 
the  city  of  Mexico  (narrowly  missing  the  naturalist)  three  months 
later,  and  left  a  request  for  a  book  the  latter  had  written,  which  was 
forwarded  to  Oaxaca,  with  the  author's  compliments. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  the  chief  to  me  one  evening  in  the  Plaza, 
"the  configuration  of  this  country,  Mexico,  coincides  most  remarkably 
with  that  of  a  cornucopia  ?  " 


THAT  GOLDEN  BUTTERFLY.  \2J 

"  True ;   I  have  never  thought  of  it  before,  but  it  does." 

"  And  if  we  believe  native  traditions,  it  is  a  veritable  horn  of 
plenty." 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  it  ought  to  be." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Because  the  United  States  and  England  alone  have  poured 
money  enough  into  it  to  make  it  one, —  sixty  millions  in  railways, 
thirty  millions  in  mining  investments,  and  perhaps  ten  millions  or 
more  in  other  speculations." 

"  The  big  end  of  this  horn  of  plenty,"  interpolated  the  mineralo- 
gist, "is  opened  toward  the  United  States;  the  money  goes  in  that 
end,  but  the  investors  always  come  out  of  the  little  end  of  this 
Mexican  horn." 

"  Too  true  !  "  sighed  the  chief.  "  We  have  individually  contributed 
something  toward  swelling  the  ultimate  aggregate,  —  not  less  than 
$500 ;  but  we  must  not  let  this  discourage  us.  I  have  a  '  horrible 
suspicion,'  "  —  the  mineralogist  let  his  ears  droop  at  this;  the  natural- 
ist prompted  him,  as  he  hesitated,  —  "a  horrible  suspicion  that  we 
were  on  the  wrong  track  all  the  time,"  continued  the  chief. 

"  Wrong  track,  —  all  the  time  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  I  have  been  reading  the  '  Letters  of  Cortez '  over  again 
carefully,  and  I  can  now  positively  locate  the  site  of  the  ancient  mine, 
without  a  doubt." 

The  naturalist  and  the  mineralogist  looked  their  incredulity. 

Ignoring  them,  the  chief  went  on :  "I  am  so  firmly  convinced  that 
I  can  find  the  locality  that  I  will  defray  all  the  expenses  of  the  expe- 
dition. Our  course  will  be  farther  south  than  the  first  trail ;  and  as 
we  saw  on  our  other  trip  no  carriages  of  any  kind,  nor  track  wide 
enough  for  wheels,  in  this  we  shall  not  see  the  imprint  of  a  horse's 
hoof  even." 

"  No  horses !     How,  then,  shall  we  travel  ?  " 


128  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OE   TREASURE. 

"  Mules,"  replied  the  chief,  "or  burros^  just  as  you  may  elect." 

"  How  long  shall  you  be  gone?  " 

"  About  two  weeks." 

"  And  the  distance  ?  " 

"  Don't  know ;  perhaps  three  hundred  miles.  It  is  somewhat  be- 
yond the  region  we  have  traversed,  in  that  section  described  by  Cortez 
as  being  inhabited  by  Indians  having  spears  sixteen  feet  in  length. 
They  would  n't  allow  the  Spaniards  to  enter  their  territory,  but  sent 
out  presents  of  gold  that  made  them  wild  to  do  so.  Though  they  and 
their  descendants  have  kept  this  territory  inviolate,  we  will  be  the  first 
strangers  to  explore  it  and  discover  its  fabulous  wealth." 

"  It  is  now  my  turn,"  said  the  naturalist,  "  to  have  a  •  horrible  sus- 
picion'  that  we  shall  return  —  if  we  do  return — without  a  grain  of 
gold  or  hint  of  the  mine." 

"  Hear  the  pessimist !"  retorted  the  chief;  "but,  notwithstanding, 
he  will  start  with  us  to-morrow." 


CHAPTER    IX. 

AN    INTIMATE    ACQUAINTANCE    WITH    A    MULE. 

Three  Hundred  Miles  a-.muleback.  —  Maxaxa. — A  City  of  the  Dead. — The 
Largest  Tree  in  Mexico.  —  A  Gait  with  a  Hitch  ix  it.  —  Riding  Pick-a- 
back.—  Music  ox  the  Jarana. —  Primitive  People.  —  A  Bronze  Venus. — 
Mexican  High-woods.  —  Deer  and  Wild  Turkey.  —  Comaltepec  and  Choa- 
pam. —  Riding  a  Mule  Downstairs.  —  The  Hammock  'neath  the  Hen-roost. 

O-MORROW  —  manana,  the  day  we  were  to  leave 
Oaxaca  on  our  second  expedition  in  search  of  the 
lost  mine  —  came  and  went,  and  several  other  to- 
morrows with  it ;  for  our  chief  had  lived  long  in 
Mexico,  and  never  did  to-day  what  could  be  post- 
poned till  to-morrow. 
The  city  hotel,  with  its  open  court  surrounded  by  rows  of  stone 
pillars,  its  cheerless  great  chambers  with  brick  floors  and  narrow 
iron  bedsteads,  was  not  an  attractive  place  of  abode.  But  its  fri~ 
joles,  —  its  fried  beans,  —  which  the  naturalist  preferred  refritos,  or 
re-fried,  were  so  rich,  and  the  city  sights  were  so  interesting,  that  it 
required  more  than  the  combined  energies  of  the  party  to  turn  our 
backs  upon  it  and  penetrate  anew  the  forest  wilds.  Hence  we  took 
a  week  of  preparation  ;  for  instead  of  the  easy-going  horses  with  their 
suggestions  of  Arab  pedigree,  which  carried  us  safely  and  easily,  we 
should  be  compelled  to  straddle  stiff-jointed  and  unsympathetic  mules; 
and  instead  of  the  gentlemanly  Don  Santos  as  guide,  we  were  to 
be  conducted  by  a  surly  ari'icro,  a  muleteer,  with  dark  and  villanous 
countenance,  who  celebrated  the  first  three  days  of  his  engagement  by 

9 


I  ^o 


THE   KNOCKABOUT   CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


getting  (and  remaining)  drunk  upon  mescal  corriente,  a  sinful  species 
of  Indian  "  tangle-foot.1' 

The  mescal,  or  native  whiskey,  is  made  by  macerating  the  "  heads," 
or  central  bulbs,  of  the  maguey  {Agave  Mexicana)  in  water,  fermenting 
the  resultant  liquid,  and  then  distilling.     It  is  a  most  insidious  drink, 


OXE    WAY    OF    CATCHING   A    MULE. 


very  intoxicating,  limpid,  sweetish  in  taste,  and  fiery.  The  true  "  fire- 
water1' {aguardiente;  literally,  "burning  water")  is  the  product  of 
the  sugar-cane.  But  the  Mexican  Indian  does  not  confine  himself  to 
a  narrow  range  of  beverages ;  for  more  than  fifty  are  enumerated  by 
the  native  statisticians,  extracted  from   maize,  honey,  barley,  maguey, 


AX  INTIMATE  ACQUAINTANCE    WITH  A   MULE.  13I 

sugar-cane,  cocoa-palm,  and  various  seeds  and  plants.  The  atolli,  or 
corn-gruel,  spoken  of  by  the  early  conquerors,  is  the  favorite  beverage 
used  in  the  field  and  when  on  long  journeys ;  but  mescal,  tequillo,  and 
aguardiente  are  the  preferred  strong  drinks. 

One  Saturday  morning,  the  first  on  which  our  mulero  was  sober 
enough  to  saddle  and  load  our  mules,  we  rode  through  the  garita,  or 
city  gate,  of  Oaxaca,  on  our  last  and  most  desperate  attempt  to  dis- 
cover the  Indians'  treasure.  It  was  a  delicious  morning,  with  that 
all-pervading  sweetness  in  the  air  which  delights  the  senses  of  the 
traveller  on  the  slope  of  the  Mexican  tierra  templada.  Early  as  it  was, 
we  were  met  by  troops  of  Indians  trotting  into  market,  with  towering 
loads  on  their  backs  from  their  distant  mountain  gardens,  —  Indians  of 
the  Sierras,  all  of  them,  but  of  several  different  tribes,  —  the  Mijes, 
Zapotecs,  and  Zoches,  —  but  all  civil  to  us,  doffing  their  hats  or  greet- 
ing us  with  smiles. 

With  our  pack-mule  trotting  gayly  ahead  and  our  guide  closing 
the  rear,  we  filed  through  the  fields  of  cane  and  pasture-lands,  taking 
the  hills  at  the  town  of  Tlalistac,  famous  in  the  local  history  as  the 
birthplace  of  the  celebrated  painter  Cabrera,  whose  best  work  now 
adorns  the  walls  of  the  art  gallery  of  San  Carlos,  Mexico  City.  Climb- 
ing the  hills,  we  were  delighted  with  the  views  of  the  valley,  yellow 
with  suo;ar-cane  and  bathed  in  golden  mist;  the  vale  of  Tlacolula,  once 
the  home  of  a  most  civilized  race  of  Indians,  as  attested  by  the  numer- 
ous mounds  containing  buried  vessels  of  exquisitely  moulded  clay  and 
implements  of  copper.  Within  fifteen  miles  of  us.  at  a  point  where 
a  wall  of  hills  intersects  the  valley,  lay  the  wonderful  "  City  of  the 
Dead,"  Mitla,  with  its  palace  walls  (still  standing),  ornamented  with 
those  arabesques  that  have  puzzled  antiquarians  since  their  discovery, 
and  which  are  distinct  from  every  other  group  of  ruins  in  Mexico 
or  in   the  world. 

The  valley  and  the  hillsides  were  almost  destitute  of  large  trees, 
but  a  few  notable  giants  cast  the  shade  of  their  huge  bulks  far  over 


132 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


the  fields  ;  and  within  sight  was  the  largest  and  perhaps  the  oldest 
tree  in  Mexico,  the  vast-bodied  savin-tree  of  Santa  Maria  del  Tule, 
nearly  fifty  feet  in  diameter;  so  prodigious  that  it  is  described  by 
Humboldt  as  one  of  the  vegetable  wonders  of  the  world.  We  had 
visited  and  measured  this  arbol  dc  Tule  several  weeks  before,  making  a 
special  side-trip  to  see  it.     The  stony  trail  wound  along  the  banks  of  a 


GRAND    HALL,    MITLA. 


little  stream,  which  it  crossed  many  times,  beneath  wild  mangos  and 
overhung  by  flowering  shrubs,  above  which  and  over  the  shallow 
water  at  the  fording-places  hung  clouds   of  butterflies. 

Our  mules  carried  us  well,  but  awkwardly,  their  gait  being  made 
unpleasant  by  a  peculiar  hitch  in  it,  which  twitches  the  rider  about 
most  uncomfortably.  How  we  lamented  the  loss  to  us  of  our  horses ! 
—  the  best  in  the  world,  as  I  can  myself  testify,  having  bestrode 
many  others,    as   in    the   West   Indies   and    Florida.       Regretfully    I 


AN  INTIMATE   ACQUAINTANCE    WITH  A    MULE.  133 

recalled  the  good  qualities  of  my  black  mare,  who  was  so  careful  and 
sure-footed  on  the  steeps  and  so  eager  for  a  gallop  on  level  ground. 
I  well  remember,  even  now,  the  entreating  look  in  her  large,  soft,  and 
brilliant  eye,  as  she  would  turn  around  to  me  beseechingly  when- 
ever we  reached  a  smooth  bit  of  road,  and  how  joyously  she  shot 
forward,  at  the  faintest  pressure  of  leg  or  arm,  and  slightest  shake  of 
bridle-rein,  cleaving  the  air  like  a  mad  creature,  yet  obedient  to  my 
every  motion.  The  voice  of  my  cautious  guide,  who  was  extremely 
jealous  of  caballito,  yet  rings  in  my  ears :  Andale !  andale !  pero, 
poco  a  poco,  Don  Federico !  "  (Go  it,  Don  Federico  !  but  gently,  my 
son,  gentlv  !  )  My  old  guide  is  dead,  as,  perhaps,  is  his  gentle  steed  ; 
and  my  sole  memento  of  them  is  the  bridle,  which  I  begged  of  him 
at  parting. 

But  to  return  to  our  mules,  from  whom  I  should  not  have  galloped 
away.  In  the  afternoon  they  were  bearing  us  through  a  grand  oak 
forest,  some  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  where  the  sub-vegeta- 
tion was  the  wild  maguey,  and  a  hundred  strange  plants  we  could  not 
even  name.  The  third  group  or  huts  we  saw  in  this  day's  journey 
was  a  wretched  place  called  Cauzimoloya,  which  we  reached  at  dark, 
at  such  an  altitude  above  the  sea  —  probably  ten  thousand  feet  —  that 
no  plants  were  cultivated  here  except  the  potato  and  maguey.  The 
inhabitants  were  surly,  and  only  with  reluctance  gave  us  permission  to 
shelter  ourselves  beneath  the  roof  of  the  principal  hut,  where  there  was 
not  even  room  to  swing  our  hammocks,  and  we  slept  on  the  table  and 
Moor.  A  wide  fireplace  yawned  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  and  into 
this  we  constantly  threw  pine-knots,  and  watched  them  flame  and 
smoke  nearly  the  whole  night  through.  We  clambered  into  our  sad- 
dles in  the  morning,  so  happy  in  getting  away  from  Cauzimoloya  that 
stiffness  and  fatigue  were  lightly  thought  of,  and  rode  for  half  a  day 
through  a  noble  forest  of  pines,  with  sheltered  glades  at  intervals,  ever 
descending  toward  the  east  and  south.  After  the  sun  had  reached 
its  meridian,    we    obtained    occasional  glimpses  of  the  open  country 


134  THE   KNOCKABOUT   CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

beyond,  the  great  "  department  "  of  Villa  Alta,  occupied  almost  ex- 
clusively by  Indians,  and  where,  we  were  assured,  no  American  had 
ever  before  travelled.  Hills  and  vast  slopes,  cut  athwart  by  barrancas, 
stretched  away  toward  the  Gulf  for  many  a  league ;  a  fair  and  beau- 
tiful country,  with  Indian  hamlets  profusely  scattered  over  it.  As  we 
emerged  from  the  forest  skirts,  we  rode  into  cultivated  grounds,  pass- 
ing that  afternoon  the  villages  of  San  Miguel,  San  Pedro,  San  Fran- 
cisco, and  Cohonos.  We  had  overtaken  in  the  forest,  the  previous 
afternoon,  a  party  of  Mestizos,  who  had  with  them  a  little  girl  borne 
in  a  silla,  or  chair,  strapped  to  the  back  of  a  stout  Indian.  The 
moans  of  the  little  one  and  her  pallid  countenance  had  inspired  us 
with  sympathy,  which  we  expressed  in  a  few  words  of  cheer,  as  we 
rode  by. 

To  our  surprise,  as  we  reached  the  deepest  part  of  the  first  valley,  — 
where  we  crossed  a  rapidly  flowing  stream,  over  an  arched  bridge  of 
stone  scarcely  two  feet  in  width,  —  we  found  the  party  at  home,  in  a 
little  hacienda,  where  they  entreated  us  to  tarry  awhile,  and  gave  us 
our  saddle-bags  full  of  oranges  and  delicious  draughts  of  native  wines. 

Climbing  the  opposite  hills,  in  the  deepening  shadows  of  the  com- 
ing night,  through  narrow  lanes  hedged  in  part  of  the  way  by  garden 
plants,  we  halted  for  the  night  in  the  quaintest  of  Indian  towns  we  had 
yet  seen,  Zoochila-Tabaa.  The  cadi/do,  or  "  king's  house,"  was  thrown 
open  to  us,  the  alcalde  purchased  for  us  some  chickens  and  wine, 
and  while  we  devoured  our  supper  by  the  light  of  ocote  torches,  some 
of  the  simple  people  gathered  around,  and  played  sweet  melodies  on 
their  aboriginal  harps,  or  jaranas.  We  stretched  our  hammocks  in 
the  guest-chamber  of  the  cabildo,  which  lies  just  back  of  the  great 
stone  church,  and  slept  soundly  the  night  through.  We  were  astir 
early  the  next  morning,  for  the  great  red  sun  shone  straight  against 
the  eastern  walls  of  this  adobe  hamlet,  calling  out  the  alcalde,  who 
brought  us  coffee  and  tortillas,  and  set  us  on  our  way  with  a  hearty 
bnen    viaje.       Most    of    the    Indians   were    already  astir ;  the  women, 


AN  INTIMATE  ACQUAINTANCE    WITH  A    MULE.  135 

naked  from  the  waist  up,  were  crushing  corn  at  the  metatl  the  men 
collecting  their  sheep  and  goats  for  their  day  afield.  It  was  a  primi- 
tive people  we  found  here,  living  out  a  paradisiacal  existence,  whose 
quiet  was  rarely  disturbed  by  strangers,  —  as  we  were  a  little  later 
reminded. 

In  the  elasticity  of  my  spirits  that  cool  morning,  I  had  vaulted  into 
the  saddle,  and  was  urging  my  mule  up  the  steep  acclivity,  through 
narrow  paths  meandering  among  gardens,  cane-fenced,  and  among 
hedgerows  of  cochineal  cactus.  I  had  outstripped  my  companions, 
and  was  alone,  saving  the  presence  of  my  mule,  and  fell  to  musing 
upon  the  blissful  state  of  things  here,  where  even  man  partook  of  the 
serenity  of  Nature,  and  was  gentle  and  courteous,  as  in  those  far-away 
days  preceding  the  advent  of  the  Spaniard.  Musing  thus,  I  dropped 
the  bridle-rein  upon  the  pommel,  and  my  beast  jogged  sleepily  on- 
ward, with  footfalls  scarcely  audible.  Suddenly  he  stopped ;  I  in- 
stinctively prodded  him  with  the  spur,  and  he  moved  on  again  ;  but 
as  I  looked  about  me  for  what  had  halted  him,  I  too  was  startled. 
The  trail  had  left  behind  the  huts  and  gardens;  and  entered  a  ravine, 
where  it  hugged  a  steep,  fern-hung  bank,  over  which  dropped,  in  a 
leap  of  a  dozen  feet,  a  sparkling  thread  of  a  stream.  And  beneath  this 
rivulet,  falling  musically  into  a  little  pool  a  few  feet  above  the  trail 
stood  what  appeared  to  be  a  statue  of  glistening  golden-bronze,  half 
veiled  in  the  silver  spray,  —  a  bronze  sculpture  of  a  female  figure. 

I  wondered  where  the  artist  had  got  his  model,  if  from  some  maid 
of  the  village  below,  and  resolved  to  make  a  search  for  this  unknown 
sculptor.  Perhaps  the  chief  could  tell  me;  so  I  shouted  to  him  to 
hurry  along.  The  figure  was  back  toward  me,  with  the  head  half 
turned  aside  and  drooping;  but  as  my  voice  resounded  through  the 
glen,  it  moved,  and  I  then  saw  that  what  I  had  mistaken  for  a  work 
of  aboriginal  art  was  only  an  Indian  girl  of  the  Sierras  taking  her 
morning  bath.  "  Buenos  dias,  Senorita  !  "  I  ejaculated,  putting  spurs 
to  my  mule;  and  "  Buena  dia,  Senor ! "  said  the  maiden,  who  did  not 


136 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


even  turn    her  head   to    see  what   manner  of  man  was  this  stranger 
who   had  so    rudely  interrupted  her  sport.     As  neither  of  my  com- 


panions, following  not  far  behind,  saw  the  girl,  she  must  have  darted 
into  the  shrubbery  as  soon  as  I  was  out  of  sight.  Indian  beauty  and 
beauties  were  the  topic  of  conversation  when  they  joined  me ;  and  the 


AN  INTIMATE  ACQUAINTANCE  WITH  A   MULE.  137 

chief,  who  was  a  perfect  encyclopaedia  of  ethnological  learning,  —  in 
truth,  his  name  may  be  found  on  the  titlepage  of  an  American 
encyclopaedia  as  assistant  editor,  —  the  chief  declared  that  he  had 
seen  straighter  and  more  symmetrical  figures  among  the  Indians  of 
South  America  and  Mexico  than  among  any  others  he  had  met. 

Thus  discoursing,  we  rode  over  the  eastern  slope  of  the  hills,  until 
we  arrived  at  a  gap  in  a  ridge,  riding  through  which  we  saw  before 
us  the  town  of  Villa  Alta,  the  centre  of  the  department  of  the  same 
name.  It  was  then  hot  noon  ;  but  the  jefe  invited  us  into  his  cool 
courtyard,  and  we  abode  with  him  until  the  next  day.  The  town 
contains  many  substantial  stone  houses,  a  fine  church,  and  a  bustling 
market  in  a  wide  plaza.  The  jefe 's  hospitality  was  profuse;  but  we 
broke  away  from  him  the  next  day,  and  again  took  the  trail. 

We  traversed  a  section  of  the  country  so  different  that  it  told 
us  of  near  approach  to  the  warm  region  of  the  coast ;  for  after  riding 
up  and  down  the  cultivated  slopes  of  hills,  and  crossing  a  swift  stream 
over  a  kind  of  hammock  bridge,  we  entered  a  great  forest  similar  to 
the  "  high  woods  "  of  the  West  Indies.  The  trees  were  enormous, 
their  trunks  buttressed  like  cypresses,  their  fine  foliage  projected 
against  the  sky  at  least  a  hundred  feet  above  our  heads,  their  limbs 
and  branches  bound  together  by  the  supple  cordage  of  lianas,  and 
festooned  with  thousands  of  epiphytes.  We  saw  a  deer  (venado)  and 
a  wild  turkey  {paso  del  monte);  but  wild  animal  life  did  not  abound, 
even  birds  being  scarce,  as  well  as  butterflies. 

We  lunched  by  the  side  of  a  swift-falling  stream,  in  a  gorge  filled 
with  the  rankest  of  vegetable  growths, — ferns,  bignonias,  and  wild 
plantains, —  and  early  in  the  afternoon  emerged  from  the  forest  into 
an  Indian  village  called  Tonaqui,  buried  so  deeply  in  banana  gardens 
that  we  hardly  noticed  the  houses.  Some  hours  later  we  reached 
Comaltepec.  and  at  dark,  in  a  pouring  rain,  entered  the  village  of 
Choapam,  which  lies  on  a  steep  hillside  ;  three  or  four  rows  of 
adobe  houses  in  the  midst  of  luxuriant  gardens.     The  hill  descends 


I3&  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

rapidly  to  a  deep  ravine  ;  in  front  is  another  long  green  hill,  and 
farther  east  a  great  broad  one,  on  which  are  the  church,  half-dozen 
houses,  and  coffee-groves  of  Latini. 

The  jefe  politico  was  the  only  white  man  in  the  place  ;  the 
shrewdest  gcnte  de  razon  we  had  met  with,  who  received  us  so 
warmly  and  discoursed  upon  politics  so  intelligently,  that  it  was 
far  into  the  small  hours  of  morning  ere  our  chief  sought  his  canvas 
couch.  He  was  a  supreme  optimist,  this  leader  of  ours,  ever  believ- 
ing that  the  next  clay  would  disclose  to  us  some  clew  to  the  object 
of  his  search,  some  man  who  could  unerringly  guide  us.  Finding  in 
the  chief  Choapam  a  congenial  soul*  a  good  listener,  he  drew  out  of 
his  saddle-bag  his  precious  "  Cartas  de  Cortes,"  and  undertook  to  prove 
to  the  jefe  that  the  trail  we  were  pursuing  led  directly  to  the  un- 
discovered river  with  the  sands  of  gold.  The  jefe  had  resided  in 
the  country  many  years,  and  undertook  to  rectify  at  times  the 
statement  of  our  friend  regarding  the  geography  of  the  region ; 
but  at  such  times  he  was  abruptly  stopped  by  an  imperative  "  Oiga 
listed!"  (Look  here,  my  friend!)  that  promptly  shut  him  up.  Then 
the  Mexican  would  gnaw  his  beard  and  say,  with  a  wag  of  his  head, 
the  chief  was  welcome  to  his  opinion,  but  he  himself  was  glad  he  was 
not  to  take   the  journey. 

The  next  day,  the  ist  of  September,  instead  of  starting  off  early 
in  the  morning,  we  did  not  leave  Choapam  till  noon  ;  and  as  it  was 
now  the  height  of  the  rainy  season,  when  all  travel  should  be  made 
in  the  first  half  of  the  day,  we  got  well  punished  for  our  delay.  We 
had  just  turned  the  first  hill,  when  a  black  cloud,  that  we  had  seen 
gathering  ominously  above  the  ravine,  burst  over  us,  and  the  rain  fell 
upon  us  in  a  flood.  To  reach  the  opposite  hill,  we  had  first  to  plunge 
into  the  ravine,  and  to  do  this  were  obliged  to  ride  down  the  side  of 
a  cliff  out  of  which  steps  had  been  cut  in  the  solid  rock.  I  was  ahead 
when  these  perilous  stairs  were  disclosed,  and  the  pressure  of  my 
companions'   mules  from   behind   compelled   me   to   take  the  descent 


AN  INTIMATE   ACQUAINTANCE   WITH  A    MULE. 


141 


ONE    OF   THE    PACK-ANIMALS. 


without  alighting;  and  step  by  step,  with  a  caution   no   beast  but  a 

mule   could  possess,  she  walked  down  those   slippery  rocks.     There 

were  between  twenty  and  thirty  of  them, 

and    as    the    mule    hitched    herself   over 

each    one,    I    clung    desperately    to    the 

saddle  with   nervous  hands,  feeling  about 

my  heart  an  electric  thrill  and  a  prickling 

sensation    at  the  roots  of  my  hair.     As 

her  hoofs  finally  slid  on  the  yellow  clay 

beyond  the  last  step,  and  I  turned  around 

to  see  how  my  friends  took  it,  I  saw  how 

steep  was  the  sheer  wall  above  them,  how 

black  and   precipitous    the    bank    below, 

and   trembled  for  their  safety.     But  the 

mineralogist  came  down  jauntily,  swinging  his  whip,  while  the  chief 

puffed  away  at  his   cigar  with    a  far-away   look   in  his  eyes  that  told 

of  his  indifference  to  present  circumstances  and  implicit  confidence 

in   his  mule. 

Full  five  hours  the  rain  poured  down  its  torrents,  making  of  the 
path  a  rushing  streamlet,  and  penetrating  our  rubber  capas  as  if  they 
were  mere  cotton  capes.  The  landscape  was  entirely  enveloped  in 
clouds  of  mist;  but  we  appeared  to  be  surrounded  by  great  forests,  at 
times  by  hills,  and  we  plodded  disconsolately  along  steep  bajadas,  or 
descents,  ravines,  and  canadas,  or  water-courses.  Late  in  the  after- 
noon we  passed  by  a  spout  with  running  water  and  a  smooth 
washinsf-stone ;  but  the  settlement,  of  which  this  would  indicate  the 
proximity,  had  perished,  —  a  wild  growth  of  bananas  and  plantains 
alone  remaining. 

A  little  while  before  it  was  time  for  the  sun  to  set  we  did  ulti- 
mately reach  a  human  habitation,  a  single  hut,  called  La  Hermita, — 
the  Hermit  alone  in  this  wilderness.  It  was  in  charge  of  a  girl  of 
twelve  and  a  small  boy,  with  whom,  without  asking  their  permission, 


142  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

we  proposed  stopping  for  the  night,  —  for  there  was  no  other  shelter 
for  many  miles.  A  liberal  offer  of  silver  started  the  boy  in  pursuit  of 
a  chicken,  and  set  the  girl  grinding  corn  at  the  metatl,  while  our 
mulero  dragged  the  packs  and  saddles  from  the  mules,  and  kindled  a 
blaze  on  the  clay  floor  of  the  hut,  by  which  we  wearily  sat  down  and 
drew  off  boots  and  leggings,  saturated  with  water,  like  the  rest  of  our 
garments.  It  required  a  good  hour  by  the  sputtering  flame,  and 
half  the  chief's  supply  of  aguardiente,  to  bring  their  wonted  suppleness 
to  our  limbs,  and  dispel  the  atmosphere  of  gloom  ;  and  then  we  fell  to 
upon  the  chicken  (which  had  been  driven  from  joyous  life  directly 
into  the  stewpan,  as  it  were),  and  the  few  exceedingly  tough  tortillas 
prepared  by  the  maiden.  Although  the  chief  was  the  direct  instru- 
ment of  all  this  misfortune,  we  did  not  reproach  him,  being  too  un- 
utterably woe-smitten  to  do  so,  and  retired  to  sleep  as  soon  as  our 
hammocks  were  hung.  We  had  plenty  of  company.  My  hammock 
was  directly  over  a  brooding  turkey,  which  kept  up  a  hissing  noise 
the  whole  night  through  ;  a  female  clog  with  a  litter  of  pups  snarled 
and  wrhined  whenever  I  stirred  ;  a  roost  of  fowls  on  either  side 
chucked  and  murmured  at  my  slightest  motion,  while  rats  and  mice 
coursed  over  the  corn  covering  the  slatted  floor  just  above  my  head, 
and  inquisitive  pigs  rooted  over  our  saddles  and  boots  spread  on  the 
mud  floor.  Yet  we  rested  well,  though  the  boy  was  shelling  corn  and 
the  girl  grinding  it,  for  our  breakfast,  till  long  past  midnight;  and  in 
the  morning  arose  refreshed,  yet  clamp  and  very  stiff.  At  a  spring 
of  sweet  water  which  bubbled  up  in  the  centre  of  a  banana  grove 
we  bathed  our  stiffened  limbs  and  washed  our  soiled  clothing,  and  in 
four  hours  from  sunrise  were  asrain  on  the  march. 


CHAPTER  X. 

A    RIDE    IN    THE    RAINY   SEASON. 

The  Deserted  Hamlet.  —  Strange  Birds  and  Butterflies.  —  A  Hut-full  of 
Topers.  — The  Chinantecos.  —  No  Gold  in  Sight.  — Home  of  the  Boa-constric- 
tor —  Chatto  Diaz  the  Outlaw.  —  Men  as  Beasts  of  Burden.  —  Our  Bed  and 
Board.—  Zampoaltepetl.— The  Last  Strip  of  Tasajo.  —  Night  in  the  High 
Forest. —  Our  Last  Centaro.  —  The  Last  Leap  into  the  Saddle.  —  Fever- 
smitten.  —  Bull-tailing.  —  Left  alone. —A  Reunion  and  a  Farewell.  —  How 
I  escaped  the  Calaboose. 


T  was  at  this  point  that  the  chief  expecttd  to  find 
traces  of  ancient  ruins,  but  diligent  search  and  in- 
quiry revealed  nothing  ;  and  he  suddenly  changed 
his  mind,  concluding  the  ruins  must  be  on  another 
trail  which  we  had  missed.  Beyond  Hermita  we 
passed  over  oak-covered  hills  of  ferruginous  earth, 
plunging  rapidly  downward  toward  tierra  caliente,  —  the  hot  country 
of  the  eastern  coast;  and  three  hours  brought  us  to  Jalahui,  right  on 
the  dividing  line  between  the  warm  and  the  temperate  regions.  Should 
a  naturalist  — or  that  nondescript  which  generally  travels  under  that 
pseudonym,  the  "collector"  —  ever  visit  this  section  of  Mexico,  he 
should  make  his  headquarters  here,  as  it  is  situated  at  the  union  of 
hill  and  low  country,  high  enough  to  be  tolerably  healthy,  and  yet 
within  reach  of  the  great  forests  of  the  humid  lowland.  The  village 
was  entirely  deserted,  except  by  an  old  horse,  which  gazed  curiously 
at  us   from  the  doorway  of  the  casa  real. 


144  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

As  the  various  paths  leading  from  the  central,  open  grass-plot 
with  its  great  ceiba-tree  to  the  house  were  quite  clear  and  clean,  the 
people  apparently  had  not  been  gone  long,  and  were  absent  in  the 
milpas,  or  corn-fields.  We  descended  from  this  spot  by  slippery 
steeps,  the  narrow  path  being  worn  into  the  clayey  soil  by  centuries 
of  travel,  and  rode  through  a  veritable  tropical  forest,  where  the  lush 
vegetation  of  this  reeking  lowland  resounded  with  the  cries  of  strange 
birds,  as  parrots  and  cJiachalahas.  Less  than  two  leagues  through 
this  teeming  flat  country,  with  lovely  streams  gliding  over  golden 
shallows  beneath  tree-ferns,  wild  bananas,  and  trumpet-trees,  brings 
us  to  a  broad,  deep  river,  the  Rio  Lalana,  which  here  divides  the 
State  of  Oaxaca  from  that  of  Vera  Cruz.  A  dug-out  floats  near 
the  bank;  a  long  and  high-roofed  hut  of  grass  stands  at  the  edge 
of  the  forest,  the  owners  of  which,  when  we  found  them,  proved  to 
be  highly  intoxicated.  The  women  of  the  hut  were  sober  enough  to 
grant  permission  to  swing  our  hammocks  to  the  rafters  and  to  cook 
us  something;  but  the  men,  shock-headed  mestizos  of  the  Vera  Cruz 
coast,  eyed  us  with  suspicion.  Here,  according  to  the  latest  interpre- 
tation of  the  "  Letters,"  we  should  find  something  to  reward  us  in  the 
sand  of  the  river  ;  at  least,  if  not  here,  then  our  leaders  were  at  fault, 
for  this  was  the  first  stream  of  magnitude  we  had  seen  with  sandy 
bottom,  and  it  was  on  the  extreme  eastern  verge  of  that  country  in- 
habited by  the  fierce  Chinantecos,  who  repelled  the  Spaniards  with 
spears  having  shafts  of  extraordinary  length.  The  mineralogist 
skirted  the  river,  dipping  out  sand  occasionally  in  a  shallow  basin 
and  washing  it,  but  he  found  nothing  ;  and  it  is  my  belief  that  we 
were  on  the  wrong  river. 

It  was  a  peculiarity  of  the  chief's  nature  that  he  always  turned  a 
defeat  into  victory ;  and  when  he  saw  the  last  hope  of  gold  fade 
away  at  the  river  verge,  he  calmly  stated  his  determination  to  return 
at  once. 

It  is  my  opinion  that  the  country  we  had  been  traversing  for  the 


A    RIDE  IN   THE  RAINY  SEASON,  1 47 

three  days  past  did  contain  rich  deposits  of  gold,  and  that  the  rivers 
even  would  yield  traces  of  it  in  their  sands.  As  has  been  already 
hinted,  the  mineralogist,  whose  slight  acquaintance  was  derived  solely 
from  books  and  upon  whom  we  entirely  depended,  did  not  know 
gold  sign  when  he  saw  it.  And  so,  next  morning,  we  journeyed 
wearily  back  to  Choapam,  where  our  friend  the  jefe,  Mariano  Ibar, 
received  us  heartily.  He  condoled  with  us,  and  said  that  if  a  Mexican 
had  been  through  where  we  had,  he  would  have  come  back  cursing 
his  mother  and  denying  his  country  ;  whereas  our  coolness  and  in- 
difference were  his  admiration.  The  forest  we  had  passed  through, 
he  said,  was  the  haunt  of  deer  and  tiger;  and  it  was  wonderful  that  we 
did  not  see  any  boa-constrictors  in  the  lowland,  for  they  were  numer- 
ous there,  many  of  them  over  twenty  feet  in  length.  Northeast  of  the 
point  at  which  we  struck  the  river  is  a  vast  tract,  thousands  of  acres, 
of  wild  agave,  which  yields  the  pita,  a  fibre  from  six  to  eight  feet  long, 
and  which,  being  Government  land,  could  be  ;'  denounced  "  in  any 
quantity.  The  rarest  of  wood,  also,  such  as  rosewood,  mahogany, 
and  satinwood,  grew  there.  But  it  was  as  much  as  one's  life  was 
worth  to  penetrate  and  reside  in  those  low  littoral  regions,  since 
the  fevers  there  were  terrible,  sure  to  attack  a  foreigner,  and  on  the 
coast  itself  the  vomito  raged  in  all  the  settled  districts.  The  only 
town  of  consequence  in  the  tierra  caliente  beyond  was  Playa  Vicente, 
on  a  large  river,  where  were  agents  of  Vera  Cruz  commercial  houses, 
who  bought  the  products  of  the  interior,  as  coffee,  hides,  and  woods, 
at  very  low  prices. 

Don  Mariano  was  a  gossipy  host,  and  told  us  more  political  secrets 
than  it  would  do  to  reveal  here.  In  this  State  was  the  old  stamping- 
ground  of  the  dreaded  Chatto  Diaz,  the  cruel  brother  of  the  President 
of  Mexico,  who  had  wantonly  killed,  according  to  report,  the  chiefs  of 
seventy-two  municipalities  and  eleven  curas.  One  time  he  was  riding 
through  an  Indian  village  and  saw  an  old  man  sitting  in  his  doorway  ; 
drawing  his  revolver,  he  shot  this  inoffensive  creature  dead  on  the  spot, 


148 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


and  then  rode  on,  as  though  nothing  had  happened.     Chatto  received 
his  reward  long  ago,  by  being  shot  by  one  of  his  men  ;  but  his  name 

lingers   among  the   hills  as   that  of 
a  fiend  incarnate. 

Our  cargo,  mule  went  lame  at 
Choapam,  and  we  hired  two  mozos  to 
take  part  of  the  luggage,  who  agreed 
to  carry  a  load  apiece  for  three  days 
for  seven  reales  (about  ninety  cents) 
each.     These   men  often   make  the 


dip    journey  to  Oaxaca  with  heavy  loads 


PRESIDENT    DIAZ 


—  a  distance  of  over  one  hundred 
miles  —  at  five  reales  each  arroba! 

Two  hours  distant  from  Choapam, 
on  the  back  trail,  is  Comaltepec,  the 
most  picturesque  of  these  Indian 
towns,  set  down  in  the  bend  of  a 
lar^e  river  that  roars  amonsr  hu^e 
boulders,  and  divides  the  settlement,  with  its  corn-fields,  banana, 
orange,  and  coffee  groves,  into  two  parts,  united  by  an  old  pole  bridge 
covered  with  a  thatched  roof.  Upon  the  hillsides  are  great  masses  of 
vines,  trumpet-trees  and  castor-plants,  above  which  peer  the  peaked 
roofs  of  thatch  and  the  stone  tower  of  the  church.  There  was  a  pro- 
cession of  the  Virgin,  as  we  entered  the  village ;  the  members  of  the 
band,  in  white  cotton  shirts  and  open  pantaloons,  came  and  knelt  be- 
fore the  image,  playing  excellent  music  for  half  an  hour,  then  rose 
and  followed  three  boys  with  crucifix  and  candles,  preceded  by  a  man 
with  a  bell.  I  was  offered  a  candle,  and  a  place  in  the  procession, 
but  declined,  without  injury  to  their  feelings. 

That  night  we  had  the  choice  of  a  hammock,  a  bed,  and  a  bench ; 
the  "  bed  "  fell  to  me,  —  an  old  door  with  a  strip  of  straw  matting  over 
it,  laid   on   the  floor  of  a  cell,  damp,  dark,  and   malodorous.     As  we 


A   RIDE  IN  THE  RAINY  SEASON.  1 49 

were  about  to  start  in  the  morning,  it  occurred  to  these  people  to  tell 
us  that  we  could  n't  cross  the  river  without  first  carrying  our  lusrsraore 
across  the  bridge  of  poles,  and  swimming  the  mules  over;  so  the  sad- 
dles were  removed,  and  everything  carried  to  the  other  side ;  and 
when  this  was  accomplished,  it  was  after  ten  o'clock,  and  rain  threat- 
ening us  out  of  black  clouds.  For  five  hours  we  toiled  upward,  finally 
gaining  and  entering  a  mountain  valley  with  several  towns  in  it.  We 
had  passed  from  the  river  bottom  to  the  highest  town  in  the  State, 
Totontepec,  which  lies  on  a  semicircular  hillside;  above  it  towers  a 
great  rock,  known  as  la  Mitra  (the  Mitre) ;  and  in  its  centre  lies  a 
church,  of  large  dimensions,  but  covered  with  thatch.  The  highest 
mountain  in  the  State,  Zampoaltepetl,  is  right  in  sight;  its  summit  a 
day's  journey  distant, 

Inquiring  for  the  house  of  a  gente  de  razon,  we  were  directed  to 
Don  Felipe  Alcantara,  to  whom  we  applied  as  one  of  the  two  white 
men  in  the  hamlet.  Don  Felipe  is  a  silversmith,  and  works  out  of 
doors  under  an  open  shed,  with  all  this  glorious  mountain  scenery 
spread  before  him.  He  has  but  one  room  in  his  dwelling,  but  he 
says,  "Mi  casa  esta  muy  a  su  disposiciones,  Sefiores  "  (My  house  is 
very  much  at  your  service,  gentlemen);  and  we  take  him  at  his  word. 
It  seems  a  shame  to  turn  a  man  out  of  his  house ;  and  so  I  tell  the 
Professor,  who  replies  that  we  don't  know  the  people,  while  he  does, 
and  cc.n  get  other  lodgings  for  himself  and  wife ;  and  that  settles  it. 
We  have  two  beds  for  the  three,  —  a  broad  board  across  two  saw-horses, 
covered  with  our  blankets.  Next  to  Don  Mariano,  of  Choapam,  Don 
Felipe  Alcantara  was  the  most  intelligent  man  we  had  met;  he  was 
even  forming  a  vocabulary  of  the  Mije  language,  for  the  'president  of 
Villa  Alta.  He  explained  to  us  the  meaning  of  the  custom  which 
we  had  observed  among  all  the  Indians  —  Zapotecs,  Chinantecos,  and 
Mijes  —  of  placing  the  left  hand  on  the  right  when  handing  us  any- 
thing, especially  a  cup  of  drink.  In  olden  times,  when  the  alcalde  was 
supreme,  whenever  an  Indian  passed  him   he  must  take  off  his  hat  or 


i5o 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 


handkerchief,  and  pass  it  to  the  alcalde  with  both  hands,  as  in  suppli- 
cation, when  the  official  would  hand  it  back  to  him,  advising  him  to 
be  a  good  Indian,  to  work  well,  and  to  take  care  of  his  family. 

After  leaving  Comaltepec  and  beyond  Totontepec,  we  were  in  the 
country  of   the  Mijes, —  Indians   less   educated   and  wilder  than    the 
others.     When  we   reached  the   first  of   their  villages,  we 
could   see   them  hiding  behind    bushes   and  vines, 
and  darting  from   one   covert    to  another,  to  have 
a  look  at  us.     At  night  a  party 
of  men  went  around  shouting 
a  sing-song  in  chorus,  warn- 
ing the  inhabitants  that 
*||||s,    they  must  all  turn  out 
Ik         to    work     on     the 
roads  in  the  morn- 
ing, —  a  custom   I 


have  observed  in 
the  Pueblos  of 
New  Mexico. 
The  most  beautiful  forests  lay  along  the 
ridges  we  were  travelling  on  ;  but  we  were 
|P  weary  of  them,  and  heartily  wished  for  the  end 
of  the  journey,  though  the  numerous  towns  in 
the  valleys  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  with 
their  varied  population,  always  excited  fresh  in- 
terest. Passing  through  the  thriving  town  of 
Chichicastepec,  we  spent  the  night  at  Yalaleg, 
another  Indian  settlement.  All  the  country  we 
had  traversed,  except  of  course  the  mountain  ridges  and  forests,  was 
agricultural,  densely  inhabited  and  thoroughly  cultivated.  We  had 
made  a  long  detour  at  Comaltepec  to  the  south,  but  rejoined  our  old 
trail  at  Cohonos,  reaching  this  small  Indian  hamlet  without  a  scrap  of 


IN   THE    INTERi'JK    O.K 

MEXICO. 


IP 


fc  liter     ,, 


'  "*"•.'  ■•7',!.'  '   ■„   rf. 


A  'RIDE  IN  THE  RAINY  SEASON.  1 53 

provision  of  any  sort  remaining.  To  our  sorrow,  we  found  nearly  all 
the  inhabitants  absent  in  their  corn-fields,  and  could  get  nothing  but 
a  few  strips  of  tasajo,  or  dried  beef,  which  we  roasted  on  the  coals, 
and  ate  with  exceeding  great  relish.  It  was  late  in  the  day  when  we 
entered  the  mountain  forest  we  had  first  penetrated  in  coming  into 
the  department  of  Villa  Alta,  and  night  overtook  us  still  in  its  depths. 
Had  we  possessed  any  food,  we  should  have  camped  in  the  woods ;  but 
we  had  nothing,  and  hoped  to  find  some  at  Guagimoloya,  miles  ahead. 
So  we  plodded  on,  in  deep  darkness,  leaving  to  our  mules  the  finding 
of  the  trail.  In  any  other  part  of  Mexico  this  travel  by  night  in  such 
a  wild  region  would  have  been  attended  with  danger ;  but  in  Southern 
Mexico  safety  generally  enwraps  the  feet  of  the  traveller.  As  we 
climbed  a  rugged  hillside,  between  immense  rocks  and  trees,  we  saw 
a  camp-fire  gleam  below  us,  and  heard  the  loud  laughter  of  a  party  of 
Indians  returning  from  Oaxaca.  The  naturalist  seemed  to  have  pre- 
served a  faint  recollection  of  the  trail,  and  so  led  the  party,  finally 
reaching  Guagimoloya  at  about  ten  o'clock  that  night.  The  same 
surly  crowd  we  had  first  met  looked  askance  at  us  as  we  entered  the 
log  hut;  but  we  secured  seats  at  the  blazing  hearth,  and  finally  pro- 
cured coffee  and  tortillas,  and  permission  to  sleep  on  the  floor. 

The  next  day  we  rode  into  Oaxaca,  men  and  mules  entirely  ex- 
hausted, and  having  spent  the  last  centaro  we  had  taken  with  us,  at 
the  foot  of  the  hills. 

According  to  the  agreement  between  them,  the  three  explorers  were 
at  liberty  to  separate  here  and  each  go  his  individual  way  ;  and  the 
naturalist,  having  been  absent  from  home  over  a  month  longer  already 
than  he  had  purposed,  claimed  his  privilege  to  return.  The  chief  did 
his  best  to  retain  him,  having  discovered  that  the  readings  of  the  "Let- 
ters  "  had  been  altogether  incorrect,  and  that  the  only  route  leading 
to  the  lost  mines  was  the  one  he  was  next  to  take,  in  a  southwesterly 
direction,  toward  the  Pacific  coast.  But,  though  with  sorrow,  the 
naturalist  forced  himself  to  say  good-by  to  his  friends,  parting  from 


154  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 

them  the  next  morning,  and  setting  his  face  toward  the  railroad 
leading  to  Vera  Cruz  and  the  steamer  thence  to  the  States.  Don 
Santos,  our  first  faithful  guide,  agreed  to  take  him  through  to  the 
tramway  of  Tehuacan,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  seventy  miles, 
in  the  three  days  and  a  fraction  remaining,  his  horses  and  himself 
having  recovered  their  strength  and  flesh  by  their  long  rest  while  we 
were  in  the  Chinanteco  country.  He  mounted  the  naturalist  upon  his 
own  favorite  buckskin,  —  a  true  Mexicano,  that  waits  till  his  victim  is 
secure  in  his  saddle,  then  gets  up  on  his  hind  legs,  and  paws  the  air 
with  his  fore  legs ;  reaches  out  with  his  hinder  limbs  ;  then  goes  up 
in  the  air,  and  kicks  all  four  legs  at  once,  rolls  his  eyes,  gnashes  his 
teeth,  and  breathes  hard,  like  a  furnace.  Yet  all  the  time  he  had  a 
peculiar  air  about  him,  and  a  sly  leer  in  his  eye,  that  said  to  the 
naturalist,  "  Don't  you  be  afraid  of  me  !  this  is  only  my  way,  you 
know."  Then,  as  the  chief  and  the  mineralogist  put  out  their  hands 
to  wring  a  last  farewell,  this  frisky  buckskin  leaped  to  one  side  and 
was  off  like  an  arrow,  leaving  them  pawing  the  atmosphere. 

As  it  was  yet  in  the  rainy  season,  the  roads  were  in  a  horrible 
condition,  with  deep  holes  in  them,  mud  a  foot  deep,  and  long 
stretches  of  slippery  clay;  yet  that  steed,  undaunted,  waltzed  side- 
wise,  the  greater  portion  of  the  journey,  down  every  clayey  hill  and 
along  the  brinks  of  precipices,  in  a  manner  that  gave  the  naturalist 
deep  misgivings.  But  when  on  the  third  day  the  rider  was  smitten 
with  a  fever-spell,  how  gently  the  noble  beast  bore  him  over  the  rough 
road,  —  well  aware  that  a  man  with  swaying  body  and  head  dropping 
heavily  over  the  saddle-bow  was  not  able  to  manage  a  horse  in  his 
tantrums  !  The  streams  were  swollen,  and  at  the  fords  we  found 
naked  Indians  to  assist  us ;  one  took  each  horse  by  the  head,  while 
another  swam  at  his  flank,  on  the  down-current  side,  shouting  lustily, 
and  landed  us  safely,  though  at  some  distance  below  the  trail.  They 
charged  only  two  reales  (twenty-five  cents)  apiece  for  their  service.  On 
the  long  road  leading  down  from   Dominguilla  —  the  only  town  on 


A    RIDE  IN   THE   RAINY  SEASON. 


155 


the  route  —  Don  Santos  gave  chase  to  a  bull,  and  we  thundered  down 
the  steep  grade  like  a  whirlwind,  just  missing  the  beast,  which  darted 
over  the  bank  as  my  compauero  was  reaching  out  to  grasp  its  tail. 

With  a  rain-soaked  cloth  hanging  over  his  neck,  and  clinging  to 
the  pommel  of  his  saddle,  the  naturalist  rode  into  the  hamlet  of  Techo- 
mavaca  on  the  third  afternoon,  and  fell  into  a  cot,  in  a  raging  fever. 
A  kind  old  Indian  woman  brought  him  lemonade,  and  rubbed  him  all 
over  with  aguardiente,  thus  relieving  the  pain  of  back  and  limbs ;  and 
he  slept  till  three  o'clock  next  morning,  when  Don  Santos  lifted  him 
into  the  saddle  and  kept  his  courage  up  to  the  "  sticking-point "  until 
the  town  of  Tehuacan  and  its  tramway  were  reached  ;  and  there  termi- 
nated the  horseback  and  mule-back  ride  of  nearly  a  thousand  miles. 
Warmly  embracing  his  friend,  the  Don  handed  the  naturalist  his  bag 
of  silver,  —  which  he  had  carried  all  the  time,  and  now  delivered  up 
without  a  single  peso  missing, — and   then  left   him  alone. 

Six  months  later  three  travellers  held  a  reunion  in  a  hospital 
ward  in  New  York.  The  chief  was  prostrate,  smitten  with  a  deadly 
disease  contracted  on  that  journey  and  in  subsequent  wanderings  after 
the  ignis  fatwus  of  Montezuma.  But  though  he  explained  to  us  the 
reason  of  our  failure,  and  how  readily  he  would  soon  lead  us  directly 
to  the  treasure,  he  never  left  his  cot  again,  and  three  months  later  he 
was  in  his  grave  ;  though  I  am  not  willing  to  affirm  that  all  knowledge 
of  the  Aztec  treasure-trove  perished  with  him ! 

Thus  died  the  chief  of  a  strange  expedition,  our  old  friend  the 
Professor,  who,  despite  his  failings,  was  a  good  man  and  true.  We 
shall  miss  him  when  we  come  to  travel  again,  and  we  shall  ever  keep 
his  memory  green.  In  our  camp  the  summer  succeeding  this  Mexi- 
can adventure,  the  Doctor  and  I  discussed  the  matter  of  the  treasure, 
and  we  think  we  discovered  wherein  our  chief  was  in  error.  But 
whether   we  shall   ever   return   to  the  search   is   a   matter  of  doubt. 

Now,  as  to  the  sequel  to  my  own  story.  Some  friends  wrere  with 
us  who  had  not  been  in   Mexico,  and  they  insisted  upon  a  story  from 


156  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

the  naturalist,     The  Doctor  was  urged  to  relate  his  experiences  ;   but 
he  declined. 

"  No,  I  'm  not  ready  ;  let  O lend  a  hand.      He  's full  of  stories; 

can't    stick  him    anywhere   but   one    tumbles   out   somehow.       Come, 
O ,  tell  us  something  about  this  Mexican  muddle." 

"Don't  remember  anything;  but  there  was  something  somewhat 
exciting  happened  to  me  once." 

"  Then  tell  us  about  it ;  we  're  pining  for  excitement." 

"  Come  to  think  of  it,  it  did  n't  happen,  but  it  almost  did  ;  that  is, 
it  might  have  happened  if   it   had." 

"  Well,  that's  near  enough  ;  let  us  hear  it." 

"  Very  well,  then.  There  was  once  a  man,  whom  we  will  des- 
ignate as  the  naturalist,  who  went  to  Mexico,  and  while  there  wrote 
some  very  severe  but  true  things  about  the  Mexicans.  Later  on  he 
went  away  down  into  Southern  Mexico,  where  no  letters  reached  him 
for  seven  weeks.  When  he  reached  a  railroad  finally,  he  was  ill  with 
fever.  Here  he  met  a  lone  American ;  and  while  waiting  at  the  lonely 
station  of  Esperanza,  he  improved  the  time  by  gleaning,  in  the  intervals 
of  rest  allowed  him  by  the  intermittent  nature  of  his  fever,  news  of 
what  had  transpired  during  his  seven  weeks'  absence.  The  lone  Amer- 
ican, whom  he  was  plying  with  questions,  suddenly  grew  frigid,  looked 
at  him  a  moment  curiously,  and  then  said,  — 

"  '  Look  here  !  are  n't  you  O ?  ' 

" '  I  am,'  replied  the  sick  man. 

"  '  Went  down  into  Southern  Mexico  about  two  months  ago,  along 
with    A and   B ?' 

"  '  The  same.' 

"  '  And  now  skipping  the  country  ?  ' 

"  '  Hardly  that ;  but  still  in  a  hurry  to  get  home.' 

"  '  Should  think  you  might  be  !  ' 

"  '  Might  be  !     Why  ?  ' 

"  '  As  though  you  did  n't  know  all  Mexico  was  looking  for  you  .' ' 


A    RIDE  IN  THE   RAINY  SEASON. 


*57 


"  '  Why,  no !     Why  should  they  be  ? ' 

"  '  That  letter  you  wrote  ?  ' 

"  '  Letter  ?  ' 

"  '  Exactly  ;  to  the  lv  Tribune." 

"  '  By  Jove  !  '   murmured  the  naturalist,  '  has  that  got  here  ? ' 


VERA  CRUZ  AND  FORT  OF  SAN  JUAN  DE  ULLOA. 

"  By  way  of  answer  his  brother  American  drew  from  his  pocket  a 
late  issue  of  a  leading  Mexican  paper,  pointed  to  a  two-column  re- 
view of  the  sick  man,  headed  '  A  Dangerous  Character,'  and  turned 
on   his  heel. 

"  As  the  astonished  man  perused  it,  the  fever  flush  in  his  cheek 
deepened   to  crimson,  his  wavering  pulses  quickened  as  he  read  there 


I 


158  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

that  'all  Mexico,'  indeed,  was  cautioned  to  be  on  the  lookout  to  ap- 
prehend him,  —  tin  enemigo  al  pais  (an  enemy  to  the  country).  He 
learned  that  he  was  a  villain  of  deepest  dye,  for  whom  the  calaboose 
yawned  ;  and  so,  with  revolver,  lasso,  knife,  and  horsewhip,  all  patriotic 
Mexicans  were  instructed  to  be  on  the  qui  vive  for  this  most  dangerous 
individual,  and  not  let  him  escape  the  country  without  a  taste  of  its 
indignation.  The  sick  man  smiled,  and  shuddered  at  the  falsity  of 
the  accusations,  and  at  a  possible  prospect  of  incarceration  in  the 
castle  at  Vera  Cruz,  where  '  Yellow  Jack  '  was  carrying  off  a  score  of 
victims  daily. 

"  But  the  irate  Mexicans  were  to  be  disappointed  ;  the  hunted  man 
reached  safely  the  steamer  that  lay  at  Vera  Cruz,  and  eventually  sailed 
serenely  on  his  way.  As  he  mounted  to  the  hurricane  deck,  he  saw  two 
gentlemen,  who  later  introduced  themselves  as  Mormon  missionaries, 
examining  a   card   attached   to  his  gun-case. 

"  '  Pardon  me,'  said  one  of  them,  Elder  Moses  Thatcher,  of  Ogden. 
Utah,  'but   do   I  address    Mr.  O ?' 

"  It  was  admitted  that  he  did  address  that  person. 

'"Then,  Mr.    O ,'    said    the  missionary,    extending  his    hand, 

'  allow  me  to  congratulate  you  on  getting  away  from  Mexico  in 
safety,  for  all  Mexico  is  up  on  its  hind  legs  and  howling  after 
you  ! 

"  But  you  Ve  been  there  since.     Did  they  calaboose  you  ?  " 

For  answer  to  this  question,  O handed   Q the  following 

notice  of  the  naturalist,  clipped  from    a   Mexican   newspaper  of    Chi 
huahua,  printed  some   months  later. 

"Personal.  —  His    Excellency    Mr.  O .      The    absence   of  the   editor 

prevented  the  acquaintance  of  this  distinguished  gentleman  prior  to  the  day 
before  his  departure.  Unassuming  and  reticent,  as  men  of  greatest  worth 
usually  are,  he   came,  gathered  information  about  our   country  as  few  others 

could,  and  is  off  to  embody  it  in  a  work  of  lasting  utility.     Mr.  O is  a  lecturer 

of  ability,  whose  book  on  Mexico  is  the  best  of  the  kind  extant.  .  .  .  We  trust 


A   RIDE  IN  THE  RAINY  SEASON.  1 59 

he  may  revisit  Chihuahua,  and  give  an  appreciative  people  an  opportunity  to 
appropriately  demonstrate  their  high  regard  for  his  painstaking  and  useful 
efforts.  No  man  is  more  worthy  of  public  honor  than  the  truthful,  accurate 
historian ;   and  such  is  Mr.  O ." 

"  I   call  that  piling  on    the  agony,"  exclaimed  O .     "  But  you 

did  n't  go  back,  and  let  an  appreciative  people  appropriately  demon- 
strate their  high   regard  for  your  painstaking  efforts,  did  you  ?  " 

"  I  've  been  there  since,"  said  O ;   "  but  they  did  not  seem  to 

have  anything  treasured  up  against  me." 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  TREASURE-CAVES  OF  COATLAN. 

The  Doctor-mineralogist  narrates.  —  His  Exciting  Adventures  and  Hair-breadth 
Escapes.  —  A  Belief  in  Golden  Idols.  —  Capturing  an  Indian  Town.  —  The 
Great  Caves  of  Coatlan.  —  On  a  Subterranean  River.  —  The  Scheming 
Sacristan.  —  Unwilling  Seekers  for  Buried  Treasure.  —  Country  of  Cochi- 
neal. —  An  Antiquarian's  Zeal.  —  Foiled  by  Circumstances.  —  All  is  Golden, 
but  it  does  not  glitter. 


HAVE  pursued  my  own  adventure  to  its  end, 
and  given  the  sequel  before  completing  the  general 
narrative  ;  but  there  is  more  yet  to  our  story,  for 
I  myself  had  farther  travel,  and  also  left  the 
Doctor  and  the  Professor  to  complete  the  search 
for  treasure. 

At  my  urgent  solicitation  the  Doctor  wrote  me  an  account  of  his 
further  adventures,  after  I  had  left  them  in  Oaxaca  ;  and  the  follow- 
ing narrative  can  be  relied  upon  as  authentic,  and  is  given  in  his 
own  words. 

Although  the  search  was  fruitless  that  he  and  our  lamented 
chief  made  after  my  departure,  yet  the  adventures  by  the  way  were 
interesting,  and  the  information  gained  exceedingly  valuable. 

Leaving  the  Professor  in  the  city,  the  Doctor  followed  his  in- 
clinations, and  went  off  alone  on   a  hunt  for  images  and   idols. 

"  In  the  course  of  my  archaeological  researches,"  he  says,  "  I  found 
it  difficult  to  persuade  the  people  that  I  was  not  hunting  for  the 
buried  treasures  that  legends,  and  facts  too,  say  are  buried  in   many, 


THE    TREASURE-CAVES   OF  CO  A  TLA  N.  l6l 

many  places.  Some  of  these  treasures  I  have  seen  ;  and  their  value 
in  more  than  one  case  was  enormous. 

'•  One  clay,  while  seated  in  my  room,  my  collections  of  rare,  quaint 
idols  and  strange,  antique  implements  all  labelled,  catalogued,  and 
boxed,  I  was  meditating  whither  I  should  next  go,  when  un  amigo 
(a  friend)  was  announced.  &k  man  whom  I  had  never  seen  before 
came  in,  and  in  a  very  long  conversation,  with  the  details  of  which 
I  need  not  tire  the  reader,  informed  me  that  he  could  give  me  ac- 
curate information  of  the  location  of  a  vast  treasure.  It  was  far 
distant,  among  a  fierce,  impatient  tribe  of  Indians ;  there  were 
several  of  them  interested  therein,  but  they  were  certain  that  I 
could  find  it,  and  one  half  of  it  would  then   be  mine. 

"  The  region  he  mentioned  was  one  as  yet  unvisited  by  me ;  but 
as  reports  led  me  to  believe  it  was  full  of  interest  to  the  archaeologist, 
I  had  often  thought  of  going  there,  and  this  additional  spice  of 
romance  and  clanger  settled  it.  We  struck  a  bargain  at  once,  and 
my  "  friend  "  gave  me  letters  to  the  jefe  politico,  or  Mayor,  of 
Maihuatlan,  who  held  the  precious  document  which  told  where  the 
vast  treasure  lay.  There  were  two  American  miners  in  the  city  who 
had  spoken  of  going  in  that  direction,  and  I  easily  induced  them  to 
accompanv  me.  A  day  or  two  we  spent  in  making:  the  necessary 
preparations ;  and  finally,  one  bright  morning,  Albert  and  Alfred 
Daniels  and  I  started  at  half-past  nine.  We  were  all  on  horseback. 
My  dress,  a  broad-brimmed  sombrero  covered  with  silver  braid,  a  blue 
flannel  shirt,  a  brilliant  striped  scrape  over  my  shoulders;  a  belt, 
from  which  hung  a  forty-five  calibre  Colt's  six-shooter;  dust-colored 
corduroy  riding-pants,  thrust  into  Mexican  nntanned  leather  boots 
armed  with  huge  silver  spurs.  My  horse,  a  powerful  roan,  who  had 
brought  me  safely  through  many  a  perilous  ride,  carried,  besides  myself, 
a  huge  Mexican  saddle,  from  whose  horn  depended  a  well-greased 
ria/ct,  or  lasso  ;  a  pair  of  saddle-bags,  and  in  a  rifle-sheath  my  trusty 
Winchester    rifle.      In    my    pocket    reposed    a    Remington,    two-shot, 


1 62  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

thirty-eight  calibre  Derringer,  —  a  weapon  I  had  found  most  useful 
at  close  quarters.  I  looked  very  much  as  I  felt,  —  a  thorough  bandit 
or  buccaneer. 

"  I  had  a  mozo,  or  servant,  —  a  fine,  faithful  Mexican,  well 
mounted,  who  led  a  pack-horse  that  very  complainingly  bore  a  small 
trunk  that  contained  my  photographic  cameras,  etc.,  some  medicines, 
surveying  instruments,  and  changes  of  underclothing.  The  Danielses 
had  also  a  pack-horse  laden  with  innumerable  bundles,  among  which 
pickaxes  and  shovels  were  prominent.  Their  mozo  was  on  foot, 
and  wras  the  stupidest  Mexican  I  have  ever  seen ;  and  that  is  saying 
a  great  deal. 

"  Soft  banks  of  clouds  tempered  the  rays  of  the  tropical  sun,  the 
road  was  pleasant,  and  we  rode  along  easily  to  the  southward  through 
the  lovely  valley  of  Oaxaca,  making  thirty  miles  to  Ocotlan  very 
nicely  by  half-past  four  in  the  afternoon.  The  road  lay  chiefly  in  the 
valley,  the  only  change  being  the  crossing,  —  a  '  divide  '  or  spur  of  the 
mountains,  of  no  very  great  height.  To  our  left  rose  a  noble  chain 
of  mountains,  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  valley.  These  mountains 
are  solidly  made  up  of  silver  and  gold  ores,  unfortunately  of  low  assay 
and  difficult  to  work. 

"  At  Ocotlan  we  rested  for  the  night,  in  a  very  decent  meson,  or 
inn,  reasonably  free  from  the  one  great  plague  of  Oaxaca,  the  fleas. 
The  name  of  this  place  is  derived  from  two  Mexic  words,  Ocotl 
(pines)  and  tlan  (place  of). 

"  Next  morning  I  was  up  at  three  o'clock,  amid  a  prodigious  chatter 
and  clatter  and  bustle  ;  for  it  is  simply  impossible  for  a  Mexican  to 
do  anything  without  a  vast  amount  of  vociferation  and  noise.  Our 
horses  were  saddled,  the  pack-horses  laden,  and  a  cup  of  chocolate 
prepared.  This  we  hastily  swallowed;  and  as  the  cracked  bell  of  the 
half-ruined  church  painfully  rang  out  four  o'clock,  we  were  in  the 
saddle.  For  thirty  miles,  still  southward,  the  road  lay  through  the 
valley,   broad   and  level ;  and  we  advanced   over   it   rapidly,  reaching 


THE    TREASURE-CAVES  OF  CO  A  TLA  X. 


165 


Ejutla  (ejutla  beans;  tlan,  place  of)  at  nine  o'clock.  We  break- 
fasted with  two  Englishmen  who  have  lived  here  for  over  thirty 
years. 

"  Here    the    great   valley    ends,    and   the   sierras,    the    mountains, 
beo'in.     We  have  now   entered   the    old   cochineal    country.     Before 

the  discovery  of  the  aniline  dyes,  co- 
chineal commanded  a  very  high 
price,  —  as  much  as  ten,  twelve,  and 
even  fifteen  dollars  a  pound  ;  now  it 
is  not  worth  half  as  many  shillings, 
-ertheless,  it  is  still  cultivated 
yy  the  Indians,  in  small 
patches.  The  cochineal 
insect  ( Coccus  cacti)  is  a 
little  bug,  about  the  size 
and  shape  of  the  com- 
mon '  lady-bug,'  but 
soft,  and  covered  with  a 
white  woolly  substance, 
which  it  throws  around 
itself.  It  lives  on  the 
broad  leaves  of  the  nopal  (Cac- 
tus cochinillifer\  a  very  handsome 
cactus,  with  bright  green  broad 
leaves,  an  improved  edition  of  our 
common  'prickly  pear'  (Cactus 
opuntia).  The  nopals  are  planted  in  rows  some  feet  apart,  and 
at  the  proper  season  the  insects  are  brushed  off,  killed  by  heat,  and 
dried.  This  trade  brought  millions  of  dollars  into  this  region  years 
ago,  and  it  is  a  positive  fact  that  nine  tenths  of  this  money  is  buried 
in  unknown  places.  Still,  every  now  and  again  very  large  amounts 
are  found. 


MEXICAN    EIT.    BRIDLE,  AND    SPURS. 


166  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

"  After  breakfast,  the  Danielses'  mozo  being  still  behind,  I  left 
my  man  with  Alfred  and  the  pack-horses,  and  with  Albert  pushed  on 
for  Miahuatlan.  We  entered  the  mountains,  and  rode  up  ten  long- 
miles  over  terribly  steep  mountain  roads,  in  the  midst  of  the  most 
magnificent  scenery,  to  the  cumbre,  or  summit.  There  we  rested 
a  moment.  Far  below  us,  to  the  north,  lay  Ejutla,  in  a  broad,  fertile 
plain ;  and  far,  far  below,  to  the  south,  we  could  see  the  great  white 
church  of  Miahuatlan  shining  twenty  long  miles  away.  The  road 
down  was  perhaps  steeper  than  the  way  up,  and  more  than  once  we 
had  to  dismount  and  walk  down  the  steepest  grades.  When  near  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  Albert  Daniels  very  cleverly  shot  a  tiger-cat, 
while  on  horseback.  Its  beautiful  skin  is  among  my  trophies.  When 
we  reached  the  plain,  we  made  a  dash  for  it,  and  at  4.20  p.  m.  were  in 
Miahuatlan.  Eleven  hours  in  the  saddle  gives  one  an  appetite,  and 
I  made  a  hearty  dinner.  Albert  and  the  mozos  and  pack-horses 
got  in  at  half-past  six.  The  next  two  days  were  spent  in  lengthy 
confabulations  with  the  jefe  and  the  lawyers ;  and  when  at  length 
everything  had  been  written  down  minutely  in  a  portentous  document 
bearing  many  huge  seals  and  expensive  stamps,  and  which  gave 
information  not  only  of  ourselves,  the  high  contracting  parties,  but 
also  many  interesting  details  about  our  relative  parents  and  grand- 
parents and  mothers-in-law,  I  was  given  the  mysterious  document, 
yellow  with  age,  which  gave  clew  to  the  great  treasure." 

For  your  benefit,  reader,  I  will  translate  it.  It  was  dated  at  one 
of  the  towns  of  the  Coatlans.  The  name  of  the  person  to  whom  it 
was  originally  addressed  is  illegible  (it  was  a  letter).  It  is  written  in 
a  mixture  of  very  good  French  and  very  bad  Spanish. 

THE    TRANSLATION. 

I  have  before  my  mind's  eye  a  view  of  the  place  the  curate  showed  me  as 
an  inexhaustible  source  of  treasure.  The  cave  is  in  front  of  the  head  of  the 
church,  about  one  thousand  yards,  or  much  farther  away.     One  sees  a  stream 


THE    TREASURE-CAVES  OF  CO  A  TLA  A'.  167 

between  two  mountains  ;  this  water  enters  in  the  cave,  and  forms  a  basin  about 
three  yards  deep.  It  is  necessary  to  empty  this  to  get  the  mineral  stones  ; 
very  near  on  the  right  hand  is  another  mine,  called  "The  Bell."  The  Sacristan 
knows  something  about  this  treasure,  but  will  not  tell. 

"  By  the  terms  of  our  portentous  contract  the  jefe,  representing 
several  persons,  was  to  have  one  half  of  the  treasure,  and  was  to 
furnish  guides  and  all  assistance  possible  ;  I  was  the  chief  and  capi- 
talist, and  in  conjunction  with  the  Danielses  we  were  the  Discovering 
Party. 

"  We  therefore  started  one  fine  morning  for  the  caves  of  Santa 
Maria  Coatlan.  '  We  '  now  means  the  Danielses,  myself,  and  my 
mozo,  and  my  pack-horse.  We  were  accompanied  also  by  the 
presidente  and  the  secretario  of  the  village,  whom  the  jefe  had  sent 
for,  to  act  as  our  guides.  The  presidente  carried  a  silver-headed  cane, 
his  wand  of  office  ;  and  the  secretario  a  curiously  carved  ruler,  his 
badge  of  authority.  These  were  their  official  uniforms,  for  they 
carried  very  little  else ;  all  the  clothes  they  both  wore  could  have  been 
made  from  less  than  four  yards  of  unbleached  muslin  !  However, 
the  presidente  did  have  something  more :  he  carried  a  big  crowbar 
for  us. 

"  The  road  was  merely  a  bridle-path,  that  seemed  to  have  been  so 
made  as  to  go  up  all  the  steepest  and  stoniest  places  in  some  of  the 
roughest  mountain  country  I  have  ever  seen.  However,  after  over 
five  hours  of  desperate  scrambling,  we  managed  to  cover  the  twenty- 
odd  miles. 

'  The  little  village  lies  away  down  in  a  tiny  valley  with  horrid 
mountains  frowning  down  on  every  side,  closing  it  in  like  a  well. 
It  has  seventy-five  contribuyentes,  or  taxpayers,  and  perhaps,  all 
told,  may  number  two  hundred  souls.  And  yet  this  town  and  the 
other  Coatlans  (San  Pablo,  San  Miguel,  San  Joaquin,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco) formed  the  very  centre  and  nucleus  of  the  cochineal  business 
years    ago,    and    then    numbered    thousands    of   enormously    wealthy 


168  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

Indians.  But  the  trade  died  ;  cholera  killed  thousands  ;  revolutions 
and  the  French  killed  thousands  more  ;  they  hid  their  money,  crept 
away  and  died,  and  in  their  places  we  find  a  mere  handful  of  poor 
miserable  devils  living  in  the  most  abject  poverty. 

"  Their  only  food  is  black  beans  {frijoles)  boiled  in  water,  and 
tortillas.  They  never  eat  meat  or  bread  or  grease  or  oil  ;  absolutely 
nothing  save  the  beans,  water,  and  tortillas,  and  always  chilis  (red 
peppers). 

"  They  had  a  magnificent  church  here  once,  now  utterly  in  ruins, 
the  work  of  an  earthquake.  Standing  near  this  church,  we  see  across 
a  ravine  two  tremendous  mountains,  between  which  a  gully  runs,  dry, 
and  filled  with  enormous  boulders.  In  the  rainy  season  a  raging, 
foaming  torrent  fills  this  gully.  It  is  penned  up  between  two  terrific 
beetling  cliffs  thrown  out  from  the  mountains'  sides.  Perpendicular, 
scarred,  and  worn,  their  gigantic  red  walls  stand  in  rocky  majesty. 
If  we  cross  over  to  them,  we  find  in  the  one  on  the  left  a  great  cave 
with  three  mouths,  one  very  large  and  two  smaller.  The  large  mouth 
is  over  thirty  feet  high,  and  here  the  Indians  have  erected  a  huge 
cross.  The  cave  is  very  large  and  spacious,  and  is  used  as  a  store- 
house for  their  corn.  They  call  it  the  Virgin's  Cave.  A  little 
farther  on  is  a  little  cave  with  a  deepish  well,  dry,  where  six  skeletons 
were  once  found.  Hence  I  called  it  Six-skeleton  Cave ;  but  we 
always,  for  some  unknown  reason,  called  it  Six-fingered  Jack's  Cave. 
I  had  this  cave  and  well  all  cleaned  out,  and  found  only  a  few  bones, 
a  stone  axe,  and  some  curious  red  stone  beads.  Crossing  the  gully 
to  the  other  bluff,  we  find  near  its  base  three  curious  caves  commu- 
nicating, from  which  there  flows  a  goodly  stream  of  water.  I  have 
named  these  the  Triple  Cave.  Close  by  another  cave,  from  which 
issues  a  second  stream  of  pure  clear  cold  water,  received  the  name  of 
Clear-water  Cave.  Farther  on  and  higher  up  is  a  very  small  cave, 
in  the  centre  of  which  yawned  the  black  mouth  of  a  well  (the  Well 
Cave).      No  one   had   ever  attempted  to  explore  this  well ;  common 


THE    TREASURE-CAVES   OF  COATLAN. 


169 


tradition  said  that  the  Devil  lived  there.  Having  an  immense  curi- 
osity to  see  this  mythical  personage,  I  lighted  my  bull's-eye  lantern, 
buckled  it  about  my  waist,  fastened  our  riatas  together,  and  mvself 
to  the  end  of  the  resultant  rope,  and  while  I  thought  half  comically 
of  '  facilis  descensus  Averni,'  the   Danielses  began  to  lower  me  down. 


FLOATING    GARDEN'S    OF    MEXICO. 


As  mv  head  sank  below  the  cave  level  I  saw  the  Indians  standing  in 
amazement,  their  brown,  lean  faces  fitfully  lit  up  by  the  red  smoky 
light  of  the  blazing  pine  torches  they  carried.  They  never  expected 
to  see  me  again.  For  the  first  ten  or  twelve  feet  the  well  was  narrow 
enough  for  me  to  find  foothold  on  its  walls  ;  then  it  suddenly  sloped 
off  to  one  side.      Down   the   lon<s  incline   thus  formed    I  half  slid  and 


170  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

half  scrambled,  when  suddenly,  as  a  Dutchman  would  say,  '  I  took 
a  drop  to  mineself ! ' 

"  The  incline  had  ceased,  and  the  well  was  again  a  perpendicular 
hole.  I  had  firm  hold  of  the  rope,  and  fell  only  about  six  feet,  the 
only  damage  done  being  that  my  hands  were  severely  skinned  as 
I  went  over  the  edge.  Fortunately  the  Danielses  were  both  strong 
men,  else  might  I  have  never  been  able  to  write  these  lines,  and  my 
Indian  friends  would  then  have  been  sure  of  the  Devil  having  his 
residence  in  that  well.  Directly  I  heard  from  above:  '  Hello!  What's 
the  matter?  Are  you  all  right?'  I  replied,  explaining,  and  asked 
how  much  rope  was  out.  '  About  forty  feet ! '  '  Well,'  I  shouted 
back,  'don't  pay  out  any  more  rope,  for  it  is  hanging  over  a  projecting 
ledge ;  the  well  is  very  wide  and  seems  very  deep  ! ' 

"  Then  with  a  sounding-line  I  measured  the  depth  of  the  perpen- 
dicular well  in  which  I  was  hanging,  —  sixty-five  feet,  with  six  feet  more 
of  water  at  the  bottom;  total,  one  hundred  and  sixteen  feet!  Very 
carefully  they  hauled  up  the  line,  and  soon  I  was  back  on  solid  ground 
again,  to  the  wonderment  of  the  Indians,  who  iat  once  decided  that  I  must 
be  un  gran  britjo,  the  equivalent  of  our  North  American  Indian's  '  Big 
Medicine  man.'  There  is  no  treasure  in  that  well  ;  it  communicates 
away  under  ground  with  the  Triple  Cave,  as  I  afterward  proved. 

"  After  the  exploration  of  this  cave  we  proceed  onward,  and  soon 
another  cave  is  reached.  Ah !  this  is  quite  another  place.  Not 
over  thirty  feet  wide  anywhere,  its  roof  stretches  away  up  over  three 
hundred  feet  above  our  heads,  and  at  the  very  topmost  point  a  tiny 
hole  opens  out  to  the  air  and  glitters  like  a  star.  Midway  of  its  im- 
mense length  it  bends  to  one  side,  and  just  at  the  bend  assumes  a 
somewhat  circular  form.  In  the  centre  of  this  space  stands  a  huge 
stalagmitic  column,  over  forty  feet  high.  It  looks  exactly  as  though 
a  Titan's  spear  or  lance  had  been  stood  upright.  Around  it  clus- 
tered bannerets  and  pennons,  and  lower  down  huge  battle-flags  thickly 
grouped  so  as  to  form  a  gigantic  trophy,  and  then  the  whole  changed 


THE    TREASURE-CAVES   OF  CO  AT  LAN.  171 

into  pure  white  glittering  marble.  I  have  visited  all  the  most  famous 
caves  in  this  world,  and  know  of  none  that  can  compare  in  exquisite 
beauty  with  this.  Its  walls  and  marvellous  roof  are  brilliantly,  stain- 
lessly white,  and  refracted  a  million  lovely  tints  where  the  red  light  of 
the  torches  struck  them.  I  named  this  cave  Cathedral  Cave ;  the 
column,  Trophy  Column.  Farther  on  in  the  cave  a  smaller  stalag- 
mite breaking  suddenly  on  my  view  elicited  a  cry  of  surprise.  Before 
me  was  kneeling  a  woman  with  head  bowed  down  and  hands  raised  in 
supplication  !     I  named  this  Lot's  Wife. 

"  The  exploration  of  these  caves  took  many  hours  ;  and  when  re- 
gretfully I  left  the  glories  of  this  magical  cave,  I  found  that  night  was 
swiftly  approaching.     We  therefore  returned  to  the  village. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

IN    PERIL    UNDERGROUND. 

Camped  in  a  Schoolhouse.  —  A  Lucky  Shot  at  a  Buck. — Exploring  Altar 
Cave.  —  "Much  Moneys  Here."  —  Lightning  Cave.  —  Cave  of  the  Bell  and 
Triple  Cave.  —  The  Sacristan's  Invocation.  —  Against  the  White  Magician. — 
Our  Rafts  the  "Mary  Jane,"  and  "  Polly  Ann."  —  An  Underground  Swim. — 
The  Giant  from  Hell's  Mouth. — Mysterious  Markings.  —  The  Indians  plot 
to  kill  us.  —  We  turn  the  Tables  and  fly. 


E  had  taken  possession  of  the  old  schoolhouse.  It 
had  a  single  large  room,  with  the  beaten  earth  for 
a  floor,  huge  adobe  walls  tough  as  copper,  a  great 
thatched  roof,  a  single  doorway  with  a  tremen- 
dously heavy  door,  no  windows.  Its  furniture 
consisted  of  three  or  four  very  long  and  very  heavy 
wooden  benches,  a  terribly  heavy  wooden  table  that  four  of  us  could 
scarcely  lift,  and  a  clumsy  wooden  chair  big  enough  and  heavy  enough 
to  have  served  as  a  seat  for  the  Cardiff  Giant. 

"  Our  beds  were  primitive  but  comfortable.  One  of  the  heavy 
benches  was  set  near  the  wall ;  about  seven  feet  away  forked  sticks 
were  driven  into  the  ground  about  five  feet  apart,  and  a  straight  stick 
was  lashed  across  them ;  then  pliant  bamboos,  eight  feet  long, 
were  laid  side  by  side,  and  securely  lashed  to  one  another.  One  end 
of  the  resultant  mat  was  laid  upon  the  bench,  the  other  end  firmly 
fastened  to  the  cross-stick.  The  familiar  '  Florida  moss '  grew  plenti- 
fully here,  and  I  had  ordered  a  large  quantity  of  it  to  be  gathered.  A 
thick  layer  of  this  moss  laid  upon  the  elastic  bamboos  and  covered 
with  a  blanket  made  an  exceedingly  comfortable  spring  bed. 


MEXICAN    GARDEN. 


IN  PERIL    UNDERGROUND.  1 75 

"  We  stood  for  a  few  moments  talking  with  the  Indians.  I  had 
learned  that  the  present  sacristan,  a  hoary-headed  old  sinner,  was 
the  son  of  the  one  referred  to  in  the  old  letter.  No  doubt  if  the 
father  knew  aught  he  told  it  before  his  death  to  his  son  ;  so  I  was 
arranging  to  have  the  old  fellow  brought  to  me.  As  we  stood  there 
I  saw  suddenly,  about  one  hundred  yards  away,  a  noble  buck  that  had 
come  up  the  crest  of  a  little  hill  and  stood  for  a  moment  gazing  at  us. 
My  Winchester  was  close  at  hand ;  I  sprang  for  it,  took  hasty  aim, 
and  fired.  To  my  delight  the  one  shot  was  sufficient :  one  mighty 
bound  into  the  air,  and  the  beautiful  animal  lay  dead.  A  lucky  shot 
indeed ;  not  only  did  it  provide  us  with  an  abundance  of  meat,  but 
the  having  killed  a  deer  in  flight  at  such  a  distance  with  a  single  ball 
made  a  deep  impression  on  the  minds  of  the  Indians,  and  later  on  I 
believe  it  was  to  the  fear  they  had  of  my  magic  (for  so  they  called  it) 
rifle,  that  our  lives  were  all  saved.     But  I  must  not  anticipate. 

"  We  were  up  bright  and  early  next  morning.  The  sacristan  appeared, 
and  claimed  to  know  nothing.  Alternately  I  coaxed,  bribed,  threat- 
ened, and  flattered  him.  Finally  he  seemed  to  relent,  and  very  mys- 
teriously led  me  past  the  caves  I  had  already  seen  to  another.  This 
one  was  about  sixty  feet  in  diameter,  nearly  circular,  with  a  very  large 
entrance,  so  that  it  was  well  lighted.  In  the  very  centre  there  was  a 
great  flat  stone,  evidently  placed  there  by  human  hands.  It  was  about 
fifteen  feet  by  ten  and  about  six  feet  thick.  This  cave  I  named  the 
Altar  Cave.  Here  the  old  fellow  led  me,  and  told  me  how  one 
day,  when  he  was  a  boy,  his  father  had  led  him  there,  and,  stamping 
his  foot  on  the  ground,  had  said  (I  shall  imitate  in  English  the  fel- 
low's bad  Spanish) :  '  Pancho,  there  is  moneys  here !  '  (again  stamping 
his  foot).     '  Pancho,  there  is  many  golds  here!  ' 

"  Having  said  so  much,  off  the  old  hvpocrite  scuttled,  on  mischief 
bent,  as  we  learned  later.  I  at  once  set  a  large  number  of  Indians  at 
work  with  one  of  the  Danielses  in  charge,  and  had  the  whole  cave  dug 
down  many  feet,  even  turned  the  huge  altar-stone  over,  and  dug  under 


176  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

that.  I  found  no  gold,  but  under  a  deep  layer  of  stalagmite  I  did  find 
a  quantity  of  bones,  some  stone  axes,  and  a  large  number  of  Pacific 
Ocean  sea-shells  of  the  genus  Conus  and  Olivus,  most  of  them  per- 
forated as  though  they  had  formed  pendants  to  a  collar.  This  excava- 
tion took  days,  and  meanwhile  I  explored  other  caves.  Next  the  Altai- 
Cave  was  a  very  large  cave  the  Indians  called  the  Lightning  Cave, 
or  the  Birth  of  the  Waters.  I  named  it  the  Raft  Cave.  Closely 
connected  with  this  are  two  caves,  the  Fissure  Cave  and  the  Waterfall 
Cave.  Last  of  all  comes  the  Cave  of  the  Bell,  as  the  Indians  call 
it.  It  takes  its  name  from  the  fact  that  a  huge  stalactite  hangs  in  its 
very  mouth,  which,  when  struck,  emits  a  deep  resonant  note  like  the 
clang  of  a  sweet-toned  bell  of  great  size  and  sweetness  of  tone.  This 
cave  is  the  refuge  of  millions  of  bats,  and  its  floor  is  covered  with  tons 
of  guano. 

"  The  language  of  the  old  document  was  very  obscure,  and  suscep- 
tible, in  view  of  the  actual  state  of  affairs,  of  many  meanings.  I 
thought  over  it  clay  and  night,  and  ever  my  conclusions  drew  me 
toward  the  Raft  Cave.  I  had  every  cave  thoroughly  explored,  and 
at  last  brought  all  my  forces  to  bear  upon  the  thorough  exploration  of 
this,  —  the  real  treasure  cave. 

"  This  cave  is  very  gloomy;  it  runs  back  about  two  hundred  yards, 
when  one  comes  to  a  pool  or  basin  of  water.  A  stream  flows  from 
this  along  one  side  frontward,  turns  sharply  to  the  left,  then,  nearly  at 
a  right  angle,  plunges  into  a  hole,  reappears  in  the  Waterfall  Cave,  a 
dismally  dark  cavern  much  below  the  level  of  the  Raft  Cave,  spreads 
into  another  great  pool,  which  runs  back  about  one  hundred  yards, 
where  you  can  hear  it  roaring  as  it  plunges  over  some  precipice  far 
within  the  bowels  of  the  mountain,  down  until  it  reaches  the  level  of 
the  water  in  the  Well  Cave,  thence  to  the  Triple  Cave,  and  thence,  at 
length,  out  into  the  sunshine.  This  I  proved  by  thoroughly  muddy- 
ing the  water  in  the  Raft  Cave.  The  source  of  this  great  stream  of 
water  is  utterly  unknown.      I   surveyed   the  whole  country  for  miles 


IN  PERIL    UXDERGROUND.  177 

around,  and  found  no  possible  source  for  it.  Doubtless  it  is  fed  by 
some  vast  spring,  far,  far  within  the  mountain. 

"  I  need  not  tire  you  with  the  details  of  my  work  there  ;  but  our 
main  object  was  to  drain  if  possible  the  great  pool  (the  Raft  Pool). 
While  taking  measures  to  this  end,  I  had  a  number  of  logs  cut,  and 
with  infinite  toil  dragged  up  the  steep  hillside  and  laid  beside  the 
pool,  so  that  we  could  build  a  raft  and  continue  our  explorations  more 
rapidly.  That  night  my  good  mozo,  Francisco,  informed  me  that 
nightly  shortly  after  midnight  the  sacristan  would  gather  all  the 
Indians  in  the  old  ruined  church,  and  that  the  wild  chants  that  more 
than  once  had  broken  our  rest  were  invocations  to  the  Virgin  not  to 
permit  the  white  stranger,  the  '  possessor  of  powers,'  to  carry  off  the 
gods  of  their  ancestors  ;  that  though  they  were  of  gold  and  of  much 
value,  yet  had  they  buried  them  deep  in  the  recesses  of  the  Raft  Cave, 
and  worshipped  her  only ;  that  unless  something  were  done,  '  the 
white  magician  would  carry  off  these  precious  idols,  —  his  boats  were 
building  to  carry  him  to  the  hiding-place  ! ' 

"  The  jefe  had  given  me  arbitrary  powers;  so  early  in  the  morning 
I  arrested  the  presidente,  the  alcalde,  and  the  sacristan,  bound  their 
wrists  with  cords,  and  ordered  them  off  to  Miahuatlan  to  the  jefe. 
They  dared  not  refuse,  for  the  jefe  had  been  very  explicit  in  his 
orders  to  the  presidente. 

"  I  had  always  believed  that  the  treasure  was  not,  as  the  old  docu- 
ment seemed  to  indicate,  gold  ore,  but  idols  of  gold,  of  which  every 
now  and  then  superb  specimens  have  been  found.  (In  April  of  this 
year  one  was  found  in  another  part  of  the  State,  weighing  seventy- 
eight  pounds  !) 

"  So,  once  rid  of  our  '  big  men  '  of  the  village,  I  set  to  work  in 
earnest,  after  properly  terrorizing  the  remainder  of  the  Indians.  The 
raft  was  rapidly  built.  We  named  it  the  '  Mary  Jane  ; '  and  placing 
Alfred  Daniels  in  charge,  we  embarked,  leaving  my  good  Francisco 
on  the  shore  with  a  Winchester  to  keep  guard.     We  had  lowered  the 


1 78 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


stream  in  the  great  cave,  and  the  Raft  Pool  was  low  enough  for  us 
to  be  able  to  pole  slowly  across  it  until  we  came  to  an  island  of  sand. 

Here  we  jumped  off.      The 
stream  ran   on   either  side 
too  narrow  for  the  '  Mary 
Jane  '  to  pass.     Above  the 
island     stretched     another 
pool,  and  at  its  farther  side 
a  huge  black  mouth   of  a 
tunnel  leading:  straight  into 
the  mountain.    The  '  Mary 
Jane '    made    several    trips 
|       bringing  up  laborers,  whom 
we  set  to  work   digging   a 
great     canal     across     '  the 
island,'    to    dry   and    drain 
off  the  upper  pool  (Thresh- 
old Pool).     Others  brought 
up    lighter   logs ;   and    an- 
other raft  ( the  '  Polly  Ann  ') 
was    made,    much    lighter 
than      the     '  Mary     Jane.' 
The    '  Polly    Ann '    would 
carry  but  one  man. 
"While  at  work  on   the  canal,  most  frightful  noises  were  heard  far 
up   across  the  Threshold   Pool,  and  seemingly  from  a  great  distance 
within.      It    needed   all   our  coolness   to   keep   the   Indians  from  being 
panic-stricken.     These  noises  were  so  diabolical,  and  the  farther  cave 
so  black  and  forbidding,  that  it  received  the  name  of  '  Hell's  Mouth.' 
Undoubtedly   these  noises  were  caused  by  the   lowering  of  the   water 
consequent  on   opening  the  canal.      Late  one  afternoon  we  launched 
the  '  Polly  Ann;  '  and  Alfred  Daniels  volunteered  to  make  a  trial  trip 


MAYAS    TYPES    OF   INDIAN. 


IN  PERIL    UNDERGROUND. 


I  79 


alone,  and  if  worth   while  the  next  day  we  would  sret  more  loes  and 
build  a  raft  large  enough  to  carry  us  all. 

"  He  soon  disappeared  from  sight,  then  the  last  flicker  of  his  torch 
disappeared,  and  finally  we  could  no  longer  hear  even  his  voice,  and  to 
our  shouts  only  responded  mocking  echoes  and  the  awful  noises 
in  redoubled  force.  It  was  a  weird  scene.  Albert  Daniels  and  I 
squatted  on  the  upper  edge  of  that  Cave  Island,  pine-knots  blazing 
redly  near  in  various  heaps,  and  stretching  back  across  the  island  to 
the  Raft  Pool,  on  whose  farther  side  my  good  mozo  Francisco 
stood  v  on  guard  '  in  a  ruddy  radiance  of  a  huge  pile  of  blazing  pitch- 
pine  that  shone  on  the  water,  turning  it  to  blood.  Bevond,  in  the 
main  cave,  red,  twinkling  lights,  where  some  men  were  still  at  work 
deepening  the  channel  ;  behind  us,  the  half-naked  Indians,  clustered 
together  with  faces  full  of  awe  and  murmuring  in  low  whispers.  We 
ceased  shouting.  Nothing  was  heard  save  now  and  then  the  dull 
stroke  of  the  pick  or  bar  far  frontward  in  the  main  cave,  the  swish  and 
whirl  of  the  stream  in  its  triple  bed,  and  now  and  again  the  frightful 
noises  far  up  where  our  brave  companion  had  gone.  The  minutes 
rolled  by.  Suddenly  we  looked  a  question  at  each  other.  '  We  '11 
swim  it?'  'You  bet,  we  will ! '  we  murmured  simultaneously.  'I  11 
try  another  shout,'  said  I  ;  and  rising  to  my  feet  and  expanding  my 
lungs  to  the  uttermost,  I  sent  out  a  mighty  '  A-hoy!!! '  that  rang  and 
reverberated  in  a  thousand  echoes:  we  waited  a  moment,  — silence, — 
and  then,  just  as  with  lips  compressed  and  cocked  revolvers  in  our 
hands  we  were  about  to  step  into  the  gloomy  pool,  —  hark  faintly 
to  our  straining  ears  comes,  'A-l-1  r-i-g-h-t ! '  Judge  what  a  great 
breath  of  relief  we  drew.  By  and  by  we  heard  more  clearly  the 
cheery  '  All  right !  '  Then  the  gleam  of  the  torch  shooting  ruby  rays 
far  athwart  the  inky  waters  ;  and  then,  in  a  smoky  haze  that  mag- 
nified his  proportions  until  he  seemed  a  giant  of  terrific  stature 
walking  clown  on  the  water  upon  us,  with  a  tremendous  burst  of 
shrieks  and  groans  following  him  from  the  '  Hell's  Mouth,'  appeared 


l8o  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

our   brave    boy.     He   is  only   forty-two,    but    a   whole-hearted,  good- 
natured,  fearless  Western  '  boy  '  nevertheless. 

"  He  reported  the  Threshold  Pool  as  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  long,  about  eight  feet  deep,  and  at  the  upper  end  a  great 
bar  of  sand  stretched  inward  ;  on  either  side  ran  the  water.  He  had 
walked  up  this  bar  for  over  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  and  expressed  his 
belief  that  the  cave  was  '  miles  longer ! '  On  the  side  rock  of  the 
cave  where  he  had  stopped  he  had  found  some  strange  markings, 
and  opposite  a  small  branch  cave,  full  of  water,  which  he  could  not 
enter,  but  in  which  he  had  seen,  by  the  uncertain  light  of  his  torch, 
stones  that  had  evidently  been  arranged  there  by  men.  He  thought 
this  enough  for  a  preliminary  trip ;  it  was  late,  and  fearing  that  not 
understanding  the  cause  of  his  long  absence,  we  might  '  do  some 
plaguey  fool  thing,'  he  had  returned. 

"  '  What  made  you  think  we  would  do  anything  ? '  I  asked. 

"  '  Oh  !  well,'  he  replied,  '  I  know  you  well  enough !  I  '11  bet  my 
share  of  this  treasure  when  we  get  it,  that  ten  minutes  more  would 
ha'  seen  you  swimmin'  this  cussed  pool  to  see  what  had  become 
o'  me ! ' 

"  I  could  but  laugh  ;  he  had  hit  it  pretty  close. 

"  He  was  highly  elated,  and  believed  firmly  that  on  the  morrow, 
when  more  logs  were  brought  and  lashed  to  the  '  Polly  Ann,'  so  that 
we  could  all  go  to  the  point  where  he  had  found  the  markings,  before 
nightfall  we  would  be  in  possession  of  the  much-sought  treasure. 

"At  my  request  he  drew  roughly  in  the  sand  some  of  these  markings, 
which,  when  the  Indians  saw,  they  set  up  a  shout.  It  was  near  night- 
fall, and  I  at  once  ordered  work  suspended,  and  returned  to  the  village. 

"  Meantime  the presidente,  the  alcalde,  and  the  sacristan  had  returned. 
It  turned  out  afterward  that  the  jefe  was  very  sick,  and  without  reading 
my  letter  had  supposed  that  I  merely  wished  to  impress  the  Indians 
with  my  power  and  have  these  men  out  of  the  way  for  a  time,  so  he 
had  permitted  them  to  return.     It  was  most  unfortunate.     They  had 


IN  PERIL    UNDERGROUND.  l8l 

alarmed  the  Indians  in  some  neighboring  villages,  and  I  found  some 
five  hundred  Indians  lounging  about,  who  cast  looks  of  bitter  hatred  at 
us.  Fortunately  they  had  no  fire-arms,  while  we  had  the  two  Win- 
chesters, six  heavy  revolvers,  and  plenty  of  ammunition.  That  night 
we  closely  barricaded  and  fortified  our  hut,  and  'Frisco  slipped  out  to 
reconnoitre.  A  big  council  was  held  in  the  old  church,  and  in  view  of 
the  certainty  they  had  that  we  would  in  a  few  hours  find  and  carry 
off  their  idols,  they  resolved  to  kill  us  all.  They  dared  not  attack 
us  openly,  the  incident  of  the  killing  of  the  deer  had  taught  them 
to  fear  our  Winchesters  ;  so  finally  it  was  decided  that  if  we  all  went  up 
into  the  cavern  they  would  shut  us  all  in,  or  drown  us,  or  drop  huge 
stones  on  us,  and  report  that  a  great  accident  had  befallen  us. 

"  This  was  startling  news.  Next  morning  I  informed  the  Indians 
that  we  would  have  to  go  to  Miahuatlan  for  various  supplies  and 
would  return  in  a  week.  For  a  time  I  thought  there  would  be  trouble ; 
but  the  Danielses  hastily  saw  the  horses  saddled  and  packed,  while  I, 
seeing  an  opportunity,  floored  the  presidente  and  the  alcalde  with  a 
couple  of  blows,  and  drawing  my  revolver  threatened  to  shoot  the  first 
man  who  moved.  Francisco  skilfullv  bound  their  arms,  and  fastening 
one  to  his  riata  forced  him  to  march  behind  us,  while  the  other,  sim- 
ilarly fastened,  marched  ahead.  We  carried  them  thus  some  ten  miles, 
and  then  unbound  them,  and  at  a  gallop  sped  down  the  rough  paths 
to   Miahuatlan. 

"  I  found  the  j efe  very  sick,  and  not  expected  to  live.  Under  these 
circumstances  nothing  could  be  done.  So  the  expedition  broke  up; 
the  Danielses  going  in  one  direction  prospecting  for  gold-mines,  and  I, 
with    Francisco  and   my  pack-horse,  set   our  faces  northward. 

"  That  night  I  slept  at  Ejutla  ;  and  next  clay,  by  hard  riding,  I  made 
sixty  miles,  to  Oaxaca,  riding  into  the  plaza  on  the  stroke  of  noon. 

"  There  is  a  treasure  in  that  cave,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  of 
very  great  value.  Perhaps  some  day  I  may  be  able  to  return  and  seek 
for  it  acrain." 


182 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


There,  that  is  the  Doctors  story  of  his  adventures  in  Southern 
Mexico,  which  were  supplemental  to  our  own,  as  it  were.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  he  was  on  the  right  track,  but  somehow  the  golden  thread 
broke  in  his  grasp. 

That  is  always  the  way  in  this  brief  life  of  ours  :  no  sooner  do  we 
lay  hold  on  what  we  think  is  a  treasure,  or  the  clew  to  it,  than  we  lose 
it,  or  are   turned   aside  from  our  object  by  sickness   or  death. 

The  real  treasure,  after  all,  is  life;  and  the  thread  upon  which  we 
string  our  daily  doings  may  be  long  or  short,  as  the  Lord  wills,  but  it 
lies  with  us   to  make   it  golden. 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

PALENOUE,  THE  PAINTED  CITY. 

The  Doctor  makes  a  Venture  all  alone.  —  The  Lord  of  the  Silent  City.  — 
The  Indian's  Book  of  Bark.  —  First  Glimpse  of  Palenque.  —  Pyramids  and 
Temples. — Aboriginal  Portraits.  —  The  Tablet  of  the  Cross.  —  Land  of  the 
Great  Stone  Serpent.  —  Where  is  the  Silver  City?  —  Mysterious  Glyphs. — 
The  Empty  Box  of  Stoxe.  —  Spear-points  axd  Arrow-heads.  —  A  Couxtry  of 
coxtrarieties.  —  where  man  is  treacherous  axd  where  he  is  clean". — 
Meeting-place  of  the  Zones.  —  Contrasts  axd  Shadows. — Where  the  Tropic 
Twilight  is  Shortest. 


HE  Doctor  had,  or  thought  he  had.  a  clew.  He  may- 
have  been  wrong  ■  but  he  had  sufficient  faith  in  it  to 
follow  it  several  hundred  miles,  over  plain,  through 
forests,  and  among  semi-savage  peoples.  After  I 
had  returned,  and  the  Professor  also,  he  started  out 
again,  this  time  with  no  companion  but  an  Indian 
guide,  in  search  of  the  mysterious  symbols  that  should  lead  to  the 
ancient  depository  of  golden  treasure.  He  had  received  the  infor- 
mation in  the  valley  where  the  platter  of  skulls  was  found.  The  old 
Indian  who  guarded  the  sacred  mound  took  a  liking  to  the  Doctor, 
and  learning  of  his  disappointment  at  Coatlan,  told  him  not  to  be 
discouraged.     "  You  are  on  the  wrono-  track,"  he  said.     "  The  2/old  is 

o  o  o 

in  this  country,  truly,  but  the  ancient  mines  are  a  sealed  book,  —  they 
cannot  be  found,  or  if  found  cannot  be  opened,  till  you  get  permission 
from  the  Lord  of  the  Silent  City,  in  Yucatan."  We  will  let  the  Doc- 
tor tell  the  story  in  his  own  words ;  and  as  I  am  merely  the  chroni- 
cler of  his  adventures,  he  shall  speak  in  the  first  person  to  the 
end  of  the  narrative. 


184 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


UXMAL. 


"  The  Lord  of  the 
Silent  City,  in  Yuca- 
tan ?  "  I  asked  of  the 
old  Indian,  as  I  sat 
resting  myself  in  his 
hut  of  adobe.       "  But 

Yucatan  is  a  far  coun- 
try, and  I  never  before  heard  of  the  Silent  City." 

'  True,  my  son,  it  is  far;  but  Yucatan  is  full  of  silent  cities.     The 
Lord     of    the      City 
liveth    not    there    in 
these  times  of  ours ; 
but  his  sign  is  there, 
and     it     will     point 
you  to  the  mines  of 
the  Aztec  king.     Go 
you  to    Palenque,  in 
Tabasco,    and     there 
remain  awhile  among 
the  ruins  of  the  great 
city.     What  you  will 
find  will  perhaps  send 
you  farther  on,  even 
to    Yucatan ;     but    if 
the      sign      is      sure 
you    may    safely    fol- 
low   it." 

"  And      what 


is 
gn,  arnica  mio  ? 


the  si 
How  can  I  know 
when  I  behold  it  ?  " 
I  asked. 


RUINS    OF    PAPAXTLA. 


PALENQUE,    THE  PAINTED   CITY. 


185 


governor's  palace,  uxmal. 

"  You  will  be-   *?£,  ^=~z- 
hold    it,  and  ^§ 
you      will 
know   it,   for   *_ 
it  is  the  sign   5^^r  *> 
of     the     ra^ 
//  «  11  d,    the 
totem        the  ~ 
lord    of    the  -egg! 
edifice,  whose  3g 
name      my 
forefather 
called     Yum. 
Note    how 
i  t  points,  — 
whether 

North   or  East,  West  or  South. 
If  north   you  must  return   to    Pa- 
pantla ;  if  east,  to   the   ruins  of    Ux- 
mal ;  if  south,  to  Peten,orthe  island  in 
the  great  lake."  Then  he  gave  me  a  book 
of  bark,  with  strange  hieroglyphs  painted 
on    it,    and  said :    "  When    you    find    on    the 
walls    of     Palenque    or    of     Uxmal     inscriptions 
like    these,    stop  there    and  dig,    for    in    that   spot 
is   treasure." 

If  I   had   met   that    old    Indian    at    first    coming 
Mexico,   I    shouldn't  have  had    any   faith    in    his    story; 
but  having  seen    so    much    that    bordered  on    the  wonder- 
ful   already,    I    was    prepared    to    take    his     story    at    its    full 
value.      He    gave   me    the    book  of  bark,  again    repeating    what 


i86 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


he  had  said,  and  left  me,  going  into  an  inner  room  and  closing 
the  door.  It  was  strange,  I'll  confess;  but  strange  things  happen 
every  day  in  that  land  of  surprises,  Mexico,  and  I  determined  to 
follow  out  his  advice. 

The  Professor  had  experimented  on  his  own  clews,  and  had  come 
to  grief;  I  could  do  no  worse  than  he  had  done,  and  meant  to  try. 
Returning  to  Oaxaca,  I  found  that  both  the   Professor  and  the  Nat- 


COURT  OF  THE  PALACE  OF  PALENQUE. 

uralist  had  left  for  home ;  hence  I  could  not  count  on  their  assistance. 
It  did  n't  trouble  me  much  ;  for  though  I  should  miss  them,  yet  I  could 
now  follow  my  own  devices,  and  roam  hither  and  thither,  as  I  liked. 
To  make  the  story  as  short  as  possible,  I  hired  a  guide  and  two  mules, 
and  started  across  country  for  the  ruins  of  Palenque.  The  journey 
was  a  terrible  one ;  for  there  were  no  roads  or  trails,  half  the  way,  and 
we  had  to  ford  rivers  innumerable.  A  taste  of  such  work  we  had  al- 
ready experienced  in  Zapotlan ;  but  all  that  was  as  nothing  to  this  new 
and  venturesome  experiment 


PALENQUE,    THE  PAINTED   CITY. 


At  last  I  reached  the  ruins  I  was  seeking,  and  made  my  camp 
within  an  enclosure  that  may  once  have  surrounded  a  palace  court. 
I  was  in  Palenque,  of  which  the  poet  says,  — 

"  At  even'  step  some  palace  greets  the  eye, 
Some  figure  frowns,  some  temple  courts  the  sky." 

This  royal  city,  the  seat  of  ancient  empire,  is  situated  eight  miles 
distant  from  the  modern  town  of  the  same  name, —  Palenque,  —  and 
though  Cortez  passed  quite 
near  it,  in  1524,  was  not 
discovered  until  1750. 

There  are  at  least  five 
great  structures,  erected 
upon  high  mounds  of  vast 
dimensions,  the  grandest  of 
which  is  the  Palace,  two 
hundred  and  eighty  feet  by 
one  hundred  and  eighty, 
but  with  a  height  of  not 
over  twenty-five,  built  of 
stone,  with  mortar  of  lime 
and  sand,  and  the  whole 
front  covered  with  stucco, 
painted  in  red,  blue,  yel- 
low, black,  and  white. 

Ruined  pyramids  are 
found  here,  and  upon  one 
pyramidal  elevation  one 
hundred  and  ten  feet  high 
we  find   the    Casa  de   Pie-  IXTERIOR  OF  A  gallery  in  the  palace  of  palen-que. 

dras.    "  rich    in   stucco    bas-reliefs   and   hieroglyphic   tablets."      Other 
structures    are  the  Temple  of  the  Sun,  the   Temple  of  the   Beau  Re- 


i88 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 


lief,    and  the  Temple  of  the  Tablets,  besides  aqueducts  and  numerous 

ruins  far  gone  in  decay. 

In  sculpture  and  ornament  Palenque  is  richer  than  any  other  re- 
mains in  America,  its  prominent  feature 
being  its  numerous  bas-reliefs  in  stucco. 
These  stucco  ornaments  take  the  shape  not 
only  of  plants  and  flowers  in  delicate  tra- 
cery, but  of  human  figures,  some  of  which, 
"in  justness  of  proportion  and  symmetry, 
approach  the  Greek  models." 

"  We  walk  the  rooms  where  kings  and  princes  met ; 
Frown  on  the  walls  their  sculptured  portraits  yet ; 
Strange  their  costume,  —  ye  see  no  native  face,  — 
Lip,  brow,  and  hue  bespeak  an  Ethiop  race." 

This  is  a  very  accurate  description,  — 
for  a  poet.  What  a  mournful  interest  is 
excited  over  these  wonderful  specimens  of 
man's  handiwork  buried  deep  in  a  dense 
forest  inhabited  solely  by  monkeys,  parrots, 
wild  turkeys,  and  the  prowling  ocelot !  In 
a  ruined  structure  known  as  "  Casa  Num- 
ber Two  "  —  a  modern  appellation  —  is  a 
portion  of  the  famous  sculpture  known  as 
the  Palenque  Tablet,  containing  that  fig- 
ure of  the  cross,  of  mysterious  origin.  A 
portion  of  this  tablet  was  torn,  by  vandal 
hands,  from  its  position,  and  taken  to  the 
United  States,  and  may  now  be  seen  in  our 
national  museum  ;  another  lies  buried  be- 
neath the  mound  of  the  Tabascan  forest, 
while  but  one  third  remains  in  its  original 
statue  from  palenque.       position  on  the  wall.     Professor  Rau,  of  the 


PALENQUE,    THE  PAINTED   CITY.  1 89 

Smithsonian  Institution,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  its  restoration, 
published  an  interesting  comparison  between  the  glyphs  sculptured  on 
the  tablet  and  the  symbols  of  the  Maya  alphabet  (of  Yucatan),  finding 
points  of  contact  between  the  two,  and  only  such  differences  as  would 
naturally  exist  between  the  writings  of  a  language  at  epochs  perhaps 
thousands  of  years  apart. 

"  Throughout  several  centuries  preceding  the  Christian  era,"  says 
the  historian,  "  there  flourished  in  Central  America  the  great  Maya 
Empire  of  the  Chanes,  or  Serpents,  known  to  its  foes  as  Xibalba,  with 
its  centre  at  or  near  Palenque.  Its  first  establishment,  at  a  remote 
period  (probably  about  1000  b.  a),  was  attributed  to  a  being  called 
Votan,  who  was  afterward  deified.  Its  language  was  doubtless  the 
Maya,  —  now  spoken  in  Yucatan,  which  from  this  centre  extended  to- 
ward Anahuac  or  Mexico."  If  we  were  to  trace  the  extension  of  the 
Xibalban  Empire,  or  rather  the  ruins  having  an  impress  of  Palenque, 
into  Central  America  proper,  we  should  find  numerous  examples  ;  as 
at  Ocosingo,  and  at  the  Quiche  capital,  Ututlan  ;  and  especially  at 
Copan,  in  Honduras,  near  the  Guatemalan  boundary-line.  There  we 
find  an  immense  wall  enclosing  an  area  about  nine  hundred  by  six- 
teen hundred  feet,  within  it  a  "  temple  "  with  walls  twenty-five  feet 
thick  and  from  sixty  to  ninety  feet  high,  —  a  pyramidal  terrace,  —  six 
hundred  and  twenty-four  by  eight  hundred  and  nine  feet,  built  of 
heavy  blocks  of  cut  stone.  Most  noteworthy  at  Copan  are  the  numer- 
ous sculptured  obelisks,  pillars,  idols,  and  altar  stones,  their  backs  cov- 
ered with  hieroglyphics,  "  which  could,  no  doubt,  tell  the  sealed  story 
of  Copan 's  greatness;  and  the  attributes  of  its  many  gods  were  the  key 
once  discovered."  Should  we  continue  southward,  we  should  discover 
traces  of  prehistoric  man,  extending  through  Central  America  even 
to  the  highlands  of  Peru. 

"  The  ruins  of  former  races  seem  to  culminate  in  the  province  of 
Yucatan.  There  are  the  wonderful  structures  that  are  the  amazement 
of  the  present  generation  of  man  ;  but  all  are  silent  cities.     All  their 


I9O  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH   OF    TREASURE. 

inhabitants  departed  hundreds,  perhaps  thousands  of  years  ago.  Yet 
somewhere  in  the  vast  and  impenetrable  forests  of  this  region  is  sup- 
posed to  stand  the  '  Mysterious  City,'  its  silver  walls  visible  a  hundred 
miles  away,  and  said  still  to  be  occupied  by  the  descendants  of  its 
original  builders.  But  this  living  aboriginal  city  has  never  yet  been 
seen,  though  a  year  of  ones  life  would  be  a  cheap  purchase  of  its 
secret!  In  this  forest  also  is  the  ruined  group  recently  discovered  by 
Charnay,  and  called  by  him  Lorillard  City,  —  only  one  of  many  that 
doubtless  yet  exist  in  the  obscurity  of  that  vast  wilderness.  But  in 
Yucatan  are  the  most  glorious  vestiges  of  former  civilization,  in  the 
ruined  cities  that  there  await  the  coming  of  the  traveller,  —  cities  that 
had  their  birth  so  far  back  in  the  twilight  of  time  that  even  tradition 
is  silent  as  to  their  builders." 

Yes,  tradition  is  silent.  The  description  was  written  for  me  by 
the  Professor,  before  he  passed  away.  He  always  had  an  idea  that  he 
could  find  that  wonderful  "  Silver  City,"  if  he  could  but  penetrate 
through  the  country  of  the  Lacandones,  the  fierce  Indians  who  live  in 
the  region  between  Palenque  and  the  interior  of  Guatemala.  But  he 
could  never  raise  an  expedition  strong  enough  ;  and" though  I  believe 
he  would  have  braved  the  dangers  alone,  yet  he  left  this  undertaking 
as  one  of  his  unfinished   tasks. 

How  much  I  missed  his  companionship,  and  how  valuable  would 
have  been  his  assistance  !  "  Find  some  inscription  like  that  in  the 
book  of  bark,"  the  old  Indian  had  said,  "and  then  dig  at  the  foot  of 
the  wall  it  is  on." 

Prowling  about  the  ruins  for  days,  with  the  assistance  of  my  In- 
dian guide,  I  laid  bare  the  walls  of  several  buildings  before  I  saw  any 
glyphs,  or  carven  symbols,  anything  like  those  written  in  the  book 
of  bark. 

At  last,  one  day,  tearing  away  a  veil  of  vines  that  hid  the  face  of  a 
crumbling  wall  in  tropic  drapery,  I  fancied  I  saw  a  resemblance,  in  the 
strange  characters  sculptured  there,  to  those  on  the  Indian's  book. 


PALEAQUE,    THE  PAINTED   CITY. 


193 


My  heart  beat  rapidly,  and  hope  ran  high,  as,  character  by  char- 
acter, the  carven  glyphs  were  compared  with  the  painted  ones. 

Even  my  stolid  Indian  grew  excited,  as  the  resemblance  was  made 
out,  and  at  last  they  were  shown  to  be  the  same.  He  danced  about, 
he  beat  the  wall  with  his  fist,  and  he  ran  to  our  camp  for  a  spade,  and 
began  digging  immediately.  There  could  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  spot ; 
the  hieroglyphs  did  not  cover  a  space  more  than  eight  feet  square,  and 
the  place  to  dig  might  be  easily  determined.  Just  what  I  was  to 
find  I  did  not  know,  but  felt  confident  it  would  be  revealed,  step  by 
step.  My  guide  dug  about  an  hour,  and  then  struck  a  stone,  or  rather, 
a  flat  rock,  as  it  seemed,  not  very 
large  and  quite  thin.  This  slab 
we  raised,  after  some  trouble ;  and 
we  fully  expected  to  find  something 
under  it  to  reward  us  for  our 
labor.  There  was  a  dark  box  of 
stone  revealed,  half  filled  with  earth 
that  had  sifted  in,  and  in  which  we 
groped  for  something  we  knew  not 
what.  But  we  were  destined  to 
be  disappointed  ;  nothing  whatever 
was  in  it  save   the  dirt. 

My  trusty  friend  still  persisted 
in  digging,  however,  even  around 
and  beyond  the  stone ;  but  nothing 
was  found  except  a  stone  arrow- 
head, and  a  spear-point  of  flint, 
that  had  once  belonged  to  some 
aboriginal  warrior. 

It  was  a  perfectly  tropical  forest 
that  enclosed  and  surrounded  the   ruins  of   Palenque,  with  many  wild 
animals  in  it,   but   not  so   many   as   I   had   expected   to   find. 

13 


STUCCO   ORNAMENT,   PALENQUE. 


194  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 

Lying  in  the  hammock  my  companion  had  slung  between  two 
trees,  I  fell  to  ruminating  upon  the  great  possibilities  of  Mexico,  the 
southern  part  of  which  I  was  then  exploring, 

"  Of  all  that  extensive  empire  which  once  acknowledged  the  au- 
thority of  Spain  in  the  New  World,"  says  the  peerless  historian  of  its 
conquest,  "  no  portion,  for  interest  and  importance,  can  be  compared 
with  Mexico." 

At  the  outset,  however,  we  must  note  that  it  is  a  country  of  con- 
trarieties. With  a  coast-line  of  nearly  six  thousand  miles,  it  has  but 
two  or  three  secure  and  navigable  harbors  ;  from  its  rugged  and  snow- 
covered  mountain  crests  trickle  a  thousand  rills,  which  swell  into  tor- 
rents that  clash  so  impetuously  to  the  sea  that  few  keels  ever  cleave 
their  waters.  Joining  the  United  States  of  the  north  by  a  conter- 
minous boundary  of  eighteen  hundred  miles,  and  stretching  to  a  length 
of  two  thousand,  it  dwindles  in  the  south,  at  Tehuantepec,  to  a  width 
of  one  hundred  and  forty.  Endless  summer  sleeps  upon  its  coast, 
eternal  winter  upon  its  mountains.  Valleys  of  verdure  lie  on  the 
slopes  of  its  southern  hills  —  vales  of  peace  and  plenty,  where  a  tropical 
luxuriance  clothes  every  vegetable  form  with  beauty,  and  the  air  is 
laden  with  the  sweetness  of  the  flowers  ;  but  beneath  the  palm  and 
plantain  lurks  the  fateful  fever.  With  an  area  of  nearly  a  million 
square  miles,  and  lying  on  the  verge  of  the  tropics,  the  flora  of  this 
country  is  as  varied  as  is  its  climate ;  yet  it  comprises  also  vast 
deserts,  terrible  in   their  sterility. 

Even  the  inhabitants  of  Mexico  partake  of  its  peculiarities  ;  while 
they  can  produce  —  through  the  length  of  their  summer  and  the  fertility 
of  soil  —  every  plant  on  earth  that  has  a  name,  yet  three  articles  of  food 
constitute  the  daily  diet  of  thousands.  Two  crops,  and  sometimes 
three,  of  cereals  can  be  raised  by  the  Mexican  Indian,  yet  his  labor  goes 
begging  at  thirty  cents  a  day,  and  flour  is  $20  a  barrel !  Every  textile 
plant,  and  even  silk,  can  be  brought  forth  in  abundance;  while  he  con- 
tents himself  with  a  sincrle  coarse  garment,  with  an  entire  wardrobe 


PALEJVQUE,   THE  PAINTED   CITY.  1 95 

that  would  be  a  dear  purchase  at  fifty  cents.  A  million  cattle  graze 
on   Mexican  pastures,  and  butter  is  one  dollar  a   pound  ! 

Sharper  contrasts  —  deeper  shadows,  more  brilliant  high-lights  — 
are  nowhere  oftener  displayed  than  here  !  Where  you  would  expect  to 
find  man  most  reliable  and  honest,  on  the  temperate  plateaux,  there 
he  is  most  treacherous ;  where  you  would  look  for  deceit,  and  glance 
over  your  shoulder  to  detect  the  assassin's  hand,  in  the  tropical  region, 
there  life  is  safest !  In  the  heated  coast  region  in  Yucatan,  where 
water  is  not  easily  procured  and  is  hidden  in  subterranean  cenotes, 
is  a  population  noted  for  its  cleanliness  ;  while  the  Aztec,  inhabiting 
well-watered  plains,  has  an  almost  hydrophobic  aversion  to  water,  and 
never  comes  into  close  contact  with  it  save  by  accident !  Beneath 
the  palatial  structures  of  the  hacendados,  the  planters,  crouch  the  mis- 
erable adobe  huts  of  the  peons.  With  all  improved  agricultural  ma- 
chinery at  their  doors,  they  still  cling  tenaciously  to  the  wooden  plough 
of  primitive  Egypt  ;  drive  carts  with  wheels  hewn  from  blocks  of  wood 
and  with  yokes  lashed  to  the  horns  of  their  cattle. 

The  stronghold  of  the  Romish  Church  in  years  gone  by  —  Mexico  — 
is  now  Roman  Catholic  only  in  name.  Once  the  capital  city  blazed 
with  inquisitorial  fires  ;  now  its  conventual  structures  are  in  ruins, 
its  churches  held  by  the  ecclesiastics  only  at  the  pleasure  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  a  Protestant  chapel  is  in  every  important  city  in  the 
Republic.  Neither  is  Mexican  society  less  anomalous;  for  while  the 
people  of  a  once  proscribed  race  (the  Spanish)  constitute  the  aris- 
tocracy and  exclude  from  their  social  gatherings  all  save  the  Creoles 
and  those  of  untainted  blood,  yet  the  dominant  class,  holding  the 
reins  of  power  and  guiding  the  destinies  of  the  country,  is  the  mestizo, 
a  resultant  of  the  admixture  of  European  and  aboriginal  stock  ;  while 
the  poor  Indian  who  has  been  the  indirect  cause  of  all  the  revolutions 
of  Mexico  is  to-day  in  reality  a  serf,  and  bears  the  burden  of  every 
fight.  Nominally  a  Republic,  its  president  is  little  else  than  a  military 
dictator,  at  whose  mercy  even  are  the  wealthy  aristocracy  whose  society 


196  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 

he  is  not  permitted  to  share.  Dios y  Libertad — "  God  and  Liberty" 
—  is  the  watchword  of  these  people,  who  neither  greatly  fear  their 
Creator,  nor  strongly  respect  the  universal  rights  of  mankind ! 

Mexico  lies  at  the  meeting-place  of  two  zones,  the  temperate  and 
tropic,  and  from  its  geographical  position,  combined  with  its  varying 
altitudes,  possesses  a  greater  variety  of  soil,  surface,  and  vegetation 
than  any  equal  extent  of  contiguous  territory  on  the  globe.  We  may 
describe  it  as  consisting  of  a  series  of  plateaux  lying  mainly  above  an 
altitude  of  six  thousand  feet,  extending  from  the  confines  of  Guate- 
mala to  its  northern  boundary,  falling  abruptly  to  the  coast  on  either 
hand,  and  descending  gradually  to  the  plains  of  Texas  and  Arizona,  in 
the  north.  The  vast  Sierra  Madre,  or  Mother  Range,  traverses  it 
from  north  to  south,  attaining  at  times  an  elevation  of  ten  thousand 
feet;  while,  crossing  this  longitudinal  system  from  west  to  east,  are 
several  ridges  due  to  igneous  action,  and  containing  some  of  the 
highest  volcanoes  in  North  America;  twenty  above  four  thousand 
feet  in  height,  nine  that  surpass  ten  thousand,  and  one,  the  Popoca- 
tepetl, that  rises  to  nearly  eighteen  thousand  feet. 

The  distribution  of  these  volcanoes  is  exceptional ;  the  highest  and 
most  noted,  as  Popocatepetl,  Nevada  de  Toluca,  Cofre  de  Perote,  and 
Jorullo,  are  in  the  centre  of  the  table-land,  and  not  along  the  coast 
All  are  either  extinct  or  quiescent,  none  having  been  in  eruption  in 
the  present  century.  The  most  noteworthy  instance  of  volcanic  ac- 
tivity was  the  formation  of  Jorullo  (in  the  State  of  Michacan)  in  1759, 
which  was  suddenly  thrown  up  from  the  centre  of  a  fertile  valley 
(three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  and  one  hundred  miles  inland)  to 
a  height  of  sixteen  hundred  feet ;  besides  six  volcanic  cones,  the 
smallest  over  three  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  thousands  of  conical 
mounds  which  even  now  give  out  sulphurous  acid  and  vapor.  Earth- 
quakes are  infrequent,  as  the  seismic  area  is  not  extensive  ;  and  the}r 
are  rather  temblores,  or  tremblings,  than  terremotos,  or  forceful 
shakings. 


PALENQUE,    THE  PAINTED   CITY.  1 97 

The  surface  of  the  table-land  is  cut  up  into  innumerable  barrancas 
and  ravines,  caused  by  the  plunging  torrents  speeding  on  their  way 
to  the  sea.  The  Indians  still  make  use  of  these  solitary  chasms,  in 
which  they  secretly  practise  many  of  their  ancient  heathen  rites ;  and 
one  must  beware  of  descending  into  any  of  them  late  in  the  afternoon, 
as  their  daylight  disappears  sooner  than  at  the  surface,  and  the 
tropical  twilight  is  so  short  that  it  is  quite  dark  very  soon  after 
sunset. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

THE  GREAT    RED    HAND    IN    THE    RUINED    PALACE. 

It  pointed  towards  Yucatan  —  The  Flying  Coach  and  three  Unhappy  Mules.  — 
Another  City  of  the  Dead,  with  its  Palace-pyramids.  —  The  Tiger  Proces- 
sion. —  Itzae  Calendar  Stones.  —  Time's  Monuments.  —  Our  Camp  in  the 
King's  House.  —  What  the  Fire  revealed.  —  My  Indian  runs  away.  —  Vam- 
pires and  Bats  and  Prowling  Animals.  —  A  Sight  that  startled  me. — The 
Bloody  Hand  at  Midnight.  —A  Grewsome,  Ghoulish  Thing.  — Why  my  Guide 
was  frightened.  —  Yum  did  it.  —  But  his  Demons  did  n't  come. 


N  one  sense  our  exploration  of  Palenque  was  a 
failure,  but  in  another  sense  it  was  not ;  for  it  led 
me  into  another  region  that  was  filled  with  fascina- 
tions, —  I  mean  that  vast,  outlying  province  of 
Yucatan,  which  belongs  politically  to  Mexico,  but 
geographically  should  be  considered  all  by  itself. 
And  why  did  I  go  there  ?  Because  the  red 
hand  pointed  thither,  —  the  emblem  of  the  lord  of  the  edifice, 
painted  or  imprinted  upon  the  wall  of  hieroglyphs !  It  pointed 
toward  Yucatan,  in  the  direction  of  the  city  known  as  Uxmal ; 
and  leaving  the  district  of  Tabasco,  I  sailed  for  Progreso,  the  chief 
port  of  Yucatan,  passing  on  the  way  Campeche  and  Champoton, — 
cities  anciently  of  much  importance,  but  now  decaying.  From  Pro- 
greso a  railroad  led  to  Merida,  the  capital  of  the  province,  where  I 
hired  the  peculiar  vehicle  of  Yucatan  called  volan-cochL  It  is  a 
modified  form  of  the  volante,  which  we  find  in  Cuba;  only,  instead  of 
sitting  up  in  the  volancoche,  the  passenger  lies  down  on  a  thin  mattress, 


\        ■  0 


HALF-BREED    WOMEN,    AND    WATER-CARRIER,    MERIDA. 


THE   GREAT  RED  HAND  IN  THE  RUINED  PALACE. 


20I 


and  his  driver  usually  stands  outsideaon  the  shafts,  and  belabors  three 
unhappy  mules,  which  travel  "  like  all  possessed." 

The  roads  are  bad,  and  the  pace  is  tremendous ;  so  that  I  was  very 
sore  indeed  when  we  arrived  within  sight  of  Uxmal,  the  silent  city  in 
which  I  was  to  look  for  the  guiding  symbol. 

The  predominant  character  of  the  Yucatan  ruins  is  that  all  are 
built  upon  an  artificial  elevation, —  a  pyramid,  or  truncate  cone,  sup- 


THE    VOLAX-COCHE. 


porting  a  building  more  or  less  vast  and  grand.  The  walls  are 
generally  of  great  thickness,  mostly  of  cut  stone,  sculptured  in  their 
facades.  Busts,  human  heads,  figures  of  animals,  and  hieroglyphics, 
which  no  one  has  yet  been  able  to  decipher,  constitute  their  adorn- 
ment. The  finest  workmanship  is  displayed  in  broad  and  elevated 
cornices  ;  the  doors  are  generally  low,  the  lintels  of  wood,  sometimes 
sculptured  ;  the  interiors  dark,  owing  to  lack  of  windows ;  and  the 
ceilings  are  formed  by  the  peculiar  "  American  "  arch,  without  the 
keystone.     Sixty-two    groups    have    been   discovered,    many    of   them 


202 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


within  a  radius  of  one  hundred  miles  from  Merida,  the  capital  city  of 
Yucatan.  None  is  more  interesting  than  Uxmal,  sixty  miles  distant, 
and  which  I  first  saw  one  evening  in  May,  having  travelled  thither  in 
a  volan-cochc. 

The  first  object  that  greeted  my  eyes  was  a  lofty  pyramid,  known 
as  the  Casa  del  Adevino,  or  House  of  the  Prophet,  up  the  steep  sides 
of  which  we  climbed,  and   from  its  summit,  difficult    to    reach   and 


THE    CUSTOM    HOUSE,     PROGRESO. 


offering  precarious  foothold,  we  found  a  glorious  spectacle  spread  be- 
fore us.  Directly  beneath  was  the  Casa  de  las  Monjas,  Nuns'  Palace, 
composed  of  four  buildings,  about  two  hundred  and  eighty  feet  long, 
enclosing  an  immense  quadrangle,  which  has  a  high  arched  entrance 
and  eighty-eight  apartments  opening  into  it.  The  facades  of  this 
grand  court  were  ornamented  with  the  richest  and  most  intricate 
carvinsfs  known    to  those    ancient  builders,  the    western   one  having 


k  !J; 


*'<  m, 


m 


u 
w 

PL, 

< 
w 


wmM 


THE   GREAT  RED  HAXD  IN   THE  RUINED  PALACE. 


205 


its  entire  length  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  feet  covered  by 
two  colossal  serpents,  whose  intertwined  bodies  enclose  a  puz- 
zling variety  of  sculptured  hieroglyphics.  The  principal  building, 
the  Casa  del  Gobernador  (all  these  names  are  modern  misnomers, 
their  original  ones  being  unknown),  lay  south  of  the  pyramid,  raised 
upon  the  topmost  of  three  terraces,  the  uppermost 
of  which  is  three  hundred  and  sixty  feet  in 
length.  It  is  the  finest  in  the 
dead  city,  having  a  length  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty-two  feet,  a 
depth  of  thirty-nine,  and  a  height  of 
twenty-three  feet ;  is  built  entirely  of 
cut  stone,  without  ornament,  to  the 
height  of  ten  feet,  above  which  is  a 
wide  cornice  beneath  a  perfect  maze 
of  intricate  and  beautiful  sculpture. 
It  contains  a  series  of  rooms,  sixty 
feet  long  by  twenty-seven  wide,  the 
ceiling  of  which  is  a  triangular  arch 
capped  by  flat  blocks. 

Noteworthy  features  of  this  pal- 
ace are  the  triangular  arch,  a  curi- 
ous sculpture  adorning  the  corners, 
called  from  its  shape  the  "  Elephant 
Trunk,"  and  imprints,  in  red  paint, 
of    the    human  hand,   on    the  walls 

of  various  rooms.  On  the  same  terrace  is  a  smaller  building, 
called  the  Casa  de  las  Tortugas  (House  of  the  Turtles),  from  a  row 
of  tortoises  as  ornaments  to  its  upper  cornice.  Near  it  are 
the  Palomas  (Pigeons'  House);  the  Casa  de  la  Yiega,  or  Old 
Woman's  House ;  a  great  pile  called  the  Nameless  Mound,  and 
several  others.  The  pyramid  itself,  our  post  of  observation,  is  one 
hundred    and    five    feet    high,    with  steep   steps  reaching  to   the  top, 


MARKET-WOMAN   OF   MERIDA. 


206 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 


where  is   a    narrow    building,    seventy    feet   long    and    twelve    deep, 
rich  in  carven  hieroglyphics. 

The  ruins  of  Copan  are  distinguished  for  idols  and  altars,  richly 
sculptured;    Palenque  for  its  profusion  of  stucco  adornment,  tablets, 


Ijllt+J*- 


y*'^.*J-li''**^^ 


:asa  municipal,  merida. 


and  statuary  ;  and  Uxmal  for  the  richness  of  its  sculptured  facades, 
the  magnitude  of  its  buildings,  and  the  chasteness  and  beauty  of  the 
few  statues  so  far  exhumed. 

Beyond  Uxmal  are  the  extensive  ruins  of  Kabah,  with  buildings 
havino-  fronts  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  on  terraces  eight  hundred 
by  one  hundred  feet,  and  "lavishly  ornamented  from  the  very  foun- 
dation ;  "  and  a  massive  arch,  that  reminded  the  archaeologist  Stephens 
of  the  Arch  of  Titus. 


THE   GREAT  RED  HAXD  IN  THE  RUINED  PALACE. 


207 


Labna  is  another  ruin,  with  sculptures  most  profuse,  grotesque,  and 
florid. 

We  may  not  mention  one  half  the  groups  of  ruins  in  Yucatan, 
but  must  content  ourselves  with  a  glance  here  and  there  at  the  most 
conspicuous. 

Thirty  miles  from  Merida  is  Mayapan,  the  Maya  capital,  where 
there  is  an  oblong  pyramid  thought  to  have  served  as  a  "  gnomon 
mound,"  and  sever- 
al sculptured  slabs. 
Directly  east  is  Iza- 
mal,  once  the  dwell- 
ing-place of  the 
Itzaes,  first  inhabi- 
tants of  Yucatan 
of  whom  we  have 
knowledge,  where 
there  is  a  colossal 
head  in  stucco. 

Lying  about 
thirty  miles  west 
of  the  city  of  Val- 
ladolid  are  the  ru- 
ins of  Chichen  Itza, 
next  in  importance 
to  Uxmal,  and  scat- 
tered over  an  area 
of  nearly  two  miles. 
The  most  maomifi- 
cent     pile    is    the 

Casa  de  las   Mon-  fa?ade  of  casa  de  las  monjas. 

jas,    very     rich    in 

sculpture ;  a  grand  structure  called  the  Carcel,  a  circular  ruin  standing 


208 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


on  a  double-terraced  platform  twenty-feet  in  diameter  and  sixty  high ; 
the  Casa  Colorado,  or  Red  House,  highly  ornamented  with  a  stone 
tablet  covered  with  inscriptions;  and  a  most  remarkable  building 
known  as  the  Gymnasium,  two  parallel  walls  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-four feet  long  and  thirty  thick,  with  two  stone  rings  four  feet  in 


NORTH    FACADE   OF    NUXS'    HOUSE,    UXMAL. 

diameter,  with  borders  carved  in  the  shape  of  two  intertwined  serpents, 
set  midway  their  length.  The  hieroglyphic  carvings  of  Chichen  are 
wonderful  and  of  exceeding  beauty,  while  its  mural  paintings,  repre- 
senting warriors  in  battle  and  events  in  the  lives  of  the  various  rulers 
of  Chichen,  are  artistic  in  execution,  and  superior  to  any  others  yet 
discovered.  A  sculptured ,  eagle  and  lynx  were  found  here,  while  a 
procession  of  tigers  ornaments  the  cornice  of  one  of  the  important 
buildings.  Though  this  is  known  to  have  been  the  abiding-place  of 
the    Itzaes  after  they  had   been  driven  from   Izamal,  yet  the  various 


THE   GREAT  RED  HAND  IN  THE   RUIXED   PALACE. 


21  I 


attempts  to  reconstruct  their  history  from  the  scattered  fragments  left 

by  tradition  and  from  the  mural  paintings  and  hieroglyphics,  have  met 

with  but  little  success. 

/i  _      - 

It  was  here  that  Dr. 
Le  Plongeon  (a  recent  ex- 
plorer who  spent  seven 
years  in  Yucatan)  disin- 
terred the  monolith  known 
as  Chaacmol,  nine  feet  in 
length  ;  and  which  was 
taken  from  him  by  the 
Mexican  Government,  and 
now  lies  in  the  Museum. 
He  also  claims  to  have 
discovered  more  recently 
(18S3)  seven  stone  ser- 
pents, and  a  group  of  fif- 
teen statues  supporting  a 
circular  table. 

Near  the  northern  part 
of  the  peninsula  is  Ake, 
an  old  Indian  province, 
containing  a  remarkable 
monument.  Upon  a  great 
platform  mound,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  by 
fifty  feet,  approached  by  a  range  of  steps  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven 
feet  long,  we  find  a  series  of  stone  columns,  thirty-six  in  number,  from 
fourteen  to  sixteen  feet  high.  The  early  chroniclers  tell  us  that  these 
columns  were  not  intended  as  supports  for  the  roof  of  a  temple,  nor  as 
altars  for  sacred  fires  ;  but  as  katuncs,  or  calendar  stones,  each  one  rep- 
resenting a  period  of  two  hundred  years.      One  antiquarian  claims  that 


COLOSSAL  HEAD  AT  THE  BASE  OF  ONE  OF  THE 
PYRAMIDS  AT  IZAMAL. 


212  THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 

there  was  an  undeniable  lapse  of  fifty-one  hundred  years  from  the  time  the 
first  stone  was  placed  on  the  platform  until  the  place  was  abandoned. 

My  Indian  guide  was  with  me ;  but  he  might  as  well  have  stayed  at 
home,  because  he  did  n't  know  the  country  or  the  people.  But  he 
was  very  useful,  and  busied  himself  about  the  place,  clearing  out 
one  of  the  rooms  in  the  great  palace,  the  Casa  del  Gobernador, 
and  swinging  a  hammock  in  it  for  me,  between  two  great  sticks 
wedged  against  the  walls.  The  room  was  very  long  and  dark,  and 
had  but  one  opening  into  it,  —  the  doorway,  facing  the  east.  The  ceil- 
ing was  triangular,  great  blocks  of  stone  meeting  above  in  the  form 
of  the  letter  A.  It  was  dusk  by  the  time  preparations  were  completed 
for  our  camp  in  the  palace,  and  a  fire  flickered  in  one  corner  of  the 
room,  —  for  the  light  it  2,-ave,  more  than  for  the  heat.  I  had  cast 
myself  into  the  hammock  as  soon  as  it  was  ready,  and  fell  asleep 
while  my  servant  was,  as  I  supposed,  preparing  my  supper. 

It  was  well  into  the  night  when  I  awoke,  and  I  immediately  rolled 
out  of  the  hammock  and  called  for  the  Indian.  There  was  no  response, 
though  I  called  again  and  again  ;  only  the  night-sounds  disturbed  the 
stillness  of  the  night,  such  as  the  occasional  hootings  of  owls  and 
the  rasping  of  the  nocturnal  cicadas.  It  was  as  dark  as  a  cavern,  and 
the  white  ruins  gleamed  in  the  darkness  like  marbles  in  a  cemetery. 
I  shuddered,  with  something  unaccountable  affecting  me.  I  was  not 
afraid;  but  a  nameless  fear  oppressed  me,  just  the  same.  The  bats 
and  vampires  circled  softly  around  the  room,  dipping  down  upon  me 
as  I  swung  uneasily  in  my  hammock,  brushing  my  face  with  their 
long  membranous  wings.  I  could  not  close  the  doorway,  for  it  was 
too  large,  and  there  was  no  door;  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  that 
I  was  peculiarly  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  prowling  animals,  such  as 
ocelots  and  tiger-cats,  should  they  take  a  notion  to  dine  off  my  bones. 
The  fire  had  died  down  ;  so  I  threw  on  fresh  fuel  and  kicked  the 
coals  into  a  blaze.  As  the  flames  leaped  up,  the  whole  room  was 
illumined,  and  grotesque  shadows  leaped  along  the  walls.     Thinking 


THE   GREAT  RED  HAND  IN  THE  RUINED  PALACE. 


21 


the  blaze  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  keep  away  the  wild  animals  for 
a  while,  I  got  up  from  the  fire  and  was  about  to  leap  into  my  ham- 
mock ao-ain,  when  I  was  arrested,  almost  in  mid-air,  by  a  sight  that 
startled  me  and  made  my  hair  stand  up.  For  there  upon  the  wall, 
staring  me  straight  in  the  face,  was  the  great  red  hand !     A  giant, 


STREET    OF   VALLADOLID 


an  antediluvian,  had  dipped  his  hand  in  blood,  and  stamped  it  against 
the  wall.  The  bloody  hand,  —  there  it  was,  all  the  creases  in  the  palm 
and  finger-joints  distinctly  visible,  and  drops  and  streaks  of  blood 
trickling  away  from  it,  as  though  the  hand  had  been  freshly  severed 
and  were  bleeding  yet. 

It  was  a  grewsome  thing,  staring  at  me  there  out  of  the  gloom; 
and  I  imagined  its  owner  ready  to  walk  down  from  the  ceiling  or  up 
from  the  subterranean  chamber  with  mouth  agape  and  face  aflame. 
I  gazed  at  it  so  intently  that  long  after  the  fire  had  expired  I  saw 
it,  —  saw  it    stretching  out    its    bloody    fingers,  reaching  nearer  and 


214  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

nearer  toward  the  hammock,  until  —  I  felt  a  cold  grasp  on  my  throat, 
and  found  I  had  fallen  asleep,  and  awakened  at  dawn.  Yet  there  was 
the  hand,  still  stretching  its  fingers  in  the  dim  light,  with  its  long 
forefinger  pointing  directly  toward  the  end  wall  of  the  room. 

When  the  morning  came  streaming  in,  and  by  the  rime  it  had 
dispelled  the  gloom,   I   anxiously  examined  the  wall. 

Which  way  did  the  hand  point  ?  That  was  the  important  ques- 
tion. If  it  pointed  up,  I  was  to  infer  that  the  treasure  was  in  the 
little  temple  on  the  pyramid,  on  the  temple-platform  of  the  conjurer's 
house ;  if  it  pointed  downward,  then  it  was  buried  beneath  ;  if  to 
the  west,  then  I  must  return  again  to  the  wilds  of  Tabasco  or 
Guatemala.  But  it  did  not  point  in  either  direction  mentioned,  for 
it  steadily  held  that  long  forefinger  toward  the  north-northeast. 

When  I  had  found  this  out,  I  stepped  outside  upon  the  terrace, 
whence  I  could  look  over  the  wilds  for  miles ;  and  then  I  saw  my 
recreant  Indian  coming  toward  me,  with  his  head  hung  down,  as 
though  he  expected  punishment. 

He  knew  well  he  deserved  to  be  punished  for  leaving  me  alone 
all  night  without  warning  ;  and  I  was  strongly  tempted  to  give  him 
a  taste  of  my  riding-whip.  But  the  danger  —  if  there  had  been 
any  —  was  now  over,  and  I  was  curious  to  know  why  it  was  this 
man,  hitherto  so  faithful,  had  suddenly  stampeded. 

He  saw  the  angry  look  in  my  eyes  as  he  reached  the  platform, 
and  halted  a  little  way  from  me. 

"  The  Senor  has  seen  it,  the  red  hand  ?  " 

"  Yes,  you  rascal,  the  Senor  has  seen  it ;  but  what  had  that  to 
do  with  your  running  away  ?  " 

"  Ah,  Sciior,  let  not  your  worship  be  offended  with  me,  for  surely 
I  could  not  avoid  it." 

"  And  why  not?     Who  compelled  you  to  go?  " 

"  Nobody,  Senor;  yes,  somebody, —  the  Lord  of  the  Edifice,  the 
great  Yum.  If  I  had  stayed  here  after  dark,  he  would  have  snatched 
me  away." 


THE   GREAT  RED  HAND  IN  THE  RUINED  PALACE.  215 

"  Well,  I  almost  wish  he  had  ;  there  would  have  been  one  bad 
Indian  less  in  the  world.  But  why  did  you  leave  me  alone  ?  Was 
not  there  danger  that  old  Yum  would  snatch  me  away  too  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  Senor ;  he  never  troubles  the  white  man,  only  the  poor 
Indian.  White  stranger  too  strong  for  Yum  ;  he  Indian  God,  and 
like  their  society  best." 

"  Very  well ;  but  after  this,  remember  that  I  have  the  first  claim 
to  your  society,  and  that  if  I  stay  here  another  night,  you  stay  too. 
Remember  that !  " 

"  Si,  Senor,  I  stay,  but  you  no  find  me  in  the  morning." 

His  limbs  shook,  and  he  turned  an  ashy  hue,  —  as  nearly  pale  as 
an  Indian  can  become. 

Breakfast  was  ready  soon  after,  and  the  entire  day  I  devoted 
to  examining  the  ruins.  We  rambled  about  through  the  scrub,  un- 
earthing idol-like  stones  and  fragments  of  sculpture,  and  stirring  up 
queer  birds,  like  the  toh  and  the  chackalaka.  When  night  came 
again,  my  servant  showed  unmistakable  signs  of  wishing  to  depart; 
but  I  looked  at  him  severely,  and  pointed  significantly  at  my 
revolver,  hanging  on   the    hammock. 

He  stayed,  therefore,  and  prepared  me  a  good  supper,  building 
a  fire  that  illumined  our  great  room  and  threw  a  long  lane  of  light 
out  into  the  forest.  He  was  sure  that  if  he  should  be  left  alone  in 
the  dark  the  demons  of  the  crafty  Yum  would  descend  and  snatch 
him  away. 

So  he  sat  up  all  night,  and  fed  the  flames  with  odorous  branches 
from  the  mesquite-tree  ;  while  I,  certain  that  he  would  not  attempt  to 
run  away  through  the  dark  forest,  fell  asleep,  and  awoke  refreshed 
in  the   morning. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


SOMETHING    ABOUT    A    STRANGE    COUNTRY. 

What  the  Old  Historian  wrote.  —  Great  Senor  Cuculcan  and  his  Wise  Men.  — 
The  Holy  Places  and  the  Sacred  Wells.  —  The  White  Man  who  turned 
Idolater.  —  Some  Strange  Statistics.—  A  Review  of  Tropical  Agriculture.  — 
Plants  different  from  ours.  —  Silk-Cottons,  Pines,  and  Tamarinds.  —  The 
Varied  Mexican  Flora.  —  Viper's-head,  Tiger-flower,  and  Monkey-foot.  — 
Coffee.  Corn,  and  Cactus  Plants.  —  A  Paper  and  Twine  Plant.  —  Our  Journey 
resumed.  —  And  ended  at  Tuloom. 


HERE  was  an  old  historian,  some  three  hundred 
years  ago  or  more,  who  wrote  a  faithful  account  of 
the  Indians  of  this  peninsula.  His  name  was  Cogal- 
ludo,  and  his  book  was  called  "  Cosas  de  Yucatan,'1 
or  "  Things  of  Yucatan."  His  style  is  quaint  and 
charming,  though  he  wrote  in  Spanish,  and  I  shall 
have  to  translate  what  he  says,  for  my  readers.  There  are,  he  says, 
many  great  edifices  of  exceeding  beauty,  the  grandest  ever  discovered 
in  this  country,  their  walls  beautifully  sculptured  ;  and  all  this  work 
was  done  by  the  ancestors  of  the  people  of  Yucatan,  with  instruments 
of  metal  of  any  kind.  The  only  knives  they  had  were  of  flint  and  of 
obsidian,  a  kind  of  volcanic  glass  found  on  the  plains  of  Mexico. 
There  are  many  edifices  of  which  we  do  not  know  the  founders  ;  but 
nearly  all  were  doubtless  erected  by  the  ancestors  of  the  present 
Indians. 

There  was  a  tradition  among  the  Mayas  that  there  once  reigned 
in  Uxmal  a  great  sawr  called  Cuculcan,  who  came  from  the  West, 
and  who  subsequently  disappeared  and  was    regarded  as    a   god.     In 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  A   STRANGE   COUNTRY. 


219 


Mexico  they  called  him  Ouetzalcoahuatl,  but  in  Yucatan  his  name 
was  Cuculcan  After  he  had  gone,  a  fine  city  was  built  in  his  honor, 
near  Campeche.  Those  ancient  Indians  had  but  little  learning;  but 
their  wise  men  made  books  of  bark  and  of  paper  made  from  the 
root  of  a  tree,  which  they  prepared  in  a  manner  that  gave  it  a  white 


THE    CASTLE    AT  CHICHEX-ITZA. 


and    lustrous  surface.      These  books  were  in  charge    of    the  priests, 
or  wise  men,   who  lived   in   the  temples  and  palaces. 

They  had  numerous  idols  of  stone,  and  also  holy  places,  like  Jeru- 
salem. Such  a  holy  place  was  Chichen-Itza  and  the  island  of  Cozu- 
mel.  Sometimes  their  priests  performed  their  rites  with  the  aid  of  the 
men  of  blood,  and  human  victims  were  sacrificed.     All  over  the  pe- 


220 


THE   KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF   TREASURE. 


ninsula  of  Yucatan  are  deep  caverns,  underground  rivers,  and  holes 
leading  to  subterranean  chambers.  Some  of  these  deep  natural  wells 
were  regarded  as  sacred  to  the  gods  ;  and  human  beings  were  cast  into 


ORNAMENTATION    OF    THE   PALACE    OF    THE    NUNS,    CHICHEN-ITZA. 

them  alive,  never  again  to  see  the  light  of  day.  Such  was  the  "  sacred 
well  "  of  Chichen-Itza. 

The  first  Spaniard  to  coast  the  shores  of  Yucatan  was  Juan  Gri- 
jalva,  in  15 17,  followed  by  Hernandez  cle  Cordova,  the  next  year,  and 
by    Hernando   Cortez,  the  conqueror  of   Mexico,   in    15 19. 

Cortez  sailed  from  the  island  of  Cuba,  with  eleven  vessels,  eleven 
captains,  and  five  hundred  men,  and  arrived  at  the  island  of  Cozumel, 
off  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  which  he  found  inhabited,  with  great  houses 
of  stone  and  numerous  idols.  He  found  there  a  figure  of  the  cross 
(similar  to  the  one  we  saw  in  Palenque),  which  the  people  adored  as 
the  symbol  of  their  rain-god.  It  was  here  that  Cortez  heard  of  a 
Spanish  captive  named  Aguilar,  who  lived  with  the    Indians  and  was 


SOMETHING   ABOUT  A    STRANGE   COUNTRY.  22  1 

a  slave  to  a  great  cacique.  He  had  a  companion,  also,  taken  prisoner 
at  the  same  time  he  was,  named  Guerrero,  who  became  a  great  cap- 
tain among  the  Indians,  learned  their  language,  and  married  an  In- 
dian wife.  Aguilar  remained  a  good  Christian,  observing  all  the  feast 
and  fast  days ;  while  Guerrero,  it  is  thought,  turned  idolater.  When 
the  messengers  from  Cortez  reached  them,  they  persuaded  Aguilar  to 
return  to  his  friends  and  civilization  ;  but  the  warrior  Guerrero  re- 
mained behind,  and   no  white   man   ever  heard  of  him  again. 

In  one  of  the  preceding  chapters  we  got  a  glimpse,  in  passing,  of 
the  sreat  natural  wealth  of  Mexico  ;  and  I  wonder  if  we  cannot  recur 
once  more  to  the  same  subject.  Imagine  ourselves  for  the  moment 
ao;ain   on  the   Mexican   table-land. 

Between  the  bases  of  the  central  mountain  ranges  and  the  coast  is 
a  broad  expanse  of  comparatively  level  land,  —  the  great  lowland  plains, 
known  as  the  savanas,  or  llanos.  The  low-lying  region  is  well  designated 
the  tierra  calicnte  (or  hot  country),  in  which  a  humid  atmosphere 
perpetually  nourishes  a  tropical  vegetation.  The  mean  annual  tem- 
perature of  this  climatic  zone  ranges  from  seventy-five  degrees  to 
eighty-two  degrees,  and  its  influence  is  felt  to  an  approximate  altitude 
of  three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  ;  at  which  height  we  enter  the 
tierra  templada,  or  temperate  region,  with  a  mean  of  about  seventy 
degrees.  A  delightful  coolness  here  prevails  in  the  shade;  while  the 
vegetable  forms,  blending  as  they  do  those  of  the  lower  and  upper 
regions,  are  of  most  astonishing  variety-  The  classification  is  an 
arbitrary  one,  and  it  is  difficult  to  say  at  just  what  elevation  each  zone 
overlaps  and  merges  into  the  other  ;  but  the  tierra  caliente  may  be 
said  to  extend  to  a  vertical  height  of  three  thousand  feet,  the  templada 
from  this  to  six  thousand,  the  verge  of  the  table-land ;  while  above  this 
altitude  is  the  tierra  fria,  or  cold  country,  rising  by  successive  stages 
to  eighteen  thousand  feet,  and  with  a  vegetation  varying  from  the  corn 
and  barley  of  the  lower  levels  to  the  cryptogamia  of  the  mountain  tops. 
Its  mean  annual  temperature  is  about  sixty  degrees.     Travel  on  the 


22  2  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 

plateaux  may  be  equally  agreeable  summer  or  winter,  excepting  that 
during  the  former  it  is  liable  to  frequent  detentions.  The  Mexicans 
divide  the  year  into  two  periods,  —  el  eslio,  the  dry  season,  extending 
from  October  to  June  ;  and  la  estacion  de  las  aguas,  or  the  rainy  season, 
comprising  the  rest  of  the  year.  The  rain,  in  fact,  follows  the  sun  in 
his    northward   and   southward   journeys. 

As  there  are  climatic  zones,  so  also  there  are  zones  of  vegetation. 
From  the  Mexican  Gulf,  at  Vera  Cruz,  a  famous  railroad  stretches 
inland  across  the  plains,  and  climbs  the  mountains  to  the  very  heart  of 
the  table-land,  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  thus  rendering  it 
easy  to  obtain  a  complete  exposition  of  Mexico's  vegetable  wonders. 

First,  after  leaving  the  shore,  which  is  like  that  of  our  southern  coast 
States,  we  have  the  tropic  coast-belt,  where,  as  high  as  fifteen  hundred 
feet,  we  find  the  coco,  cacao,  cotton,  vanilla,  cloves,  nutmegs,  peppers, 
bananas,  plantains,  and  all  the  tropical  fruit.  To  impress  upon  one 
the  character  of  the  coast  vegetation,  must  be  imagined  a  group  of 
coco-palms,  waving  their  long  leaves  in  the  wind,  shining  like  gold  in 
the  sun.  Essentially  a  littoral  product,  the  coco-palm  is  rarely  found 
far  inland  ;  and  the  equally  beautiful  and  tropical  plant,  the  banana, 
leaves  it  behind  in  the  advance  up  the  mountains,  as  the  foot-hills  are 
reached. 

First  among  tropical  trees  I  rank  the  coco-palm  ;  for  there  is  no  more 
valuable  product  of  the  soil  to  the  inhabitant  of  the  coast  region  than 
this,  and  none   more  graceful   or  stately. 

Poets,  native  and  foreign,  have  celebrated  the  "  hundred  uses  of 
the  palm,"  —  a  tree  which  furnishes  man  in  the  tropics  with  nearly  every- 
thing necessary  for  his  subsistence.  Many  are  the  draughts  of  cool 
coco-milk  that  I  have  drunk  beneath  the  golden-canopied  roof-tree  of 
the  palm,  reclining  in  cool  shade,  while  outside  the  grove  blazed  the 
ardent  sun  of  a  tropic  noon.  Everywhere  in  the  hot  coast  region,  and 
on  the  lower  borders  of  the  temperate  land,  may  be  found  the  banana 
and   its  sister  plantain,  which,  we  have  little  reason  to  doubt,  are  indi- 


\  ■  ' 


V.F\i 


iff 


•' 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  A    STRANGE   COUNTRY.  225 

genous  to  tropical  America,  and  were  cultivated  by  the  aboriginal  in- 
habitants in  pre-Columbian  times.  Regarding  their  productiveness, 
we  may  repeat  that  oft-quoted  statement  of  Humboldt,  that  thirty-three 
pounds  of  wheat  and  ninety-nine  pounds  of  potatoes  require  the  same 
space  to  grow  upon  as  will  suffice  to  produce  four  thousand  pounds  of 
bananas. 

Cotton  is  another  plant  indigenous  to  Mexico,  found  here  by  the 
Spaniards,  as  Indians  clothed  in  cotton  garments  were  seen  by  Colum- 
bus, off  the  coast  of  Yucatan,  in  1502.  Beautiful  cotton  mantles 
were  woven  by  the  Indians  of  the  lustre  of  silk,  while  their  cotton 
breastplates  were   considered   arrow-proof. 

Of  rising  importance  is  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane,  to  which 
the  tierras  calientes  are  especially  adapted.  Another  plant  native  to 
Mexico  is  tobacco,  called  yetl  by  the  Aztecs,  and  used  by  them  as  a 
mild  narcotic.  We  have  only  to  turn  to  the  history  of  the  Conquest 
to  find  that  Montezuma  and  the  lords  of  his  court  used  it  after  their 
repasts,  daintily  smoking  it  through  amber  tubes,  and  finding  it  es- 
pecially grateful  for  the  mid-day  siesta.  We  find  in  profusion  in  the 
forests  of  Southern  Mexico  those  valuable  woods  obtained  only  beneath 
the  vertical  sun  of  the  torrid  zone,  —  not  less  than  twenty  precious  cabi- 
net woods  and  sixty  species  of  timber.  Among  those  noted  for  their 
fineness  of  grain  and  susceptibility  to  polish  are  :  Ebony,  lignum 
vitae,  mahogany,  manchineel,  rosewood,  sapota,  and  violet  wood. 
These  woods,  at  a  distance  from  the  coast  and  a  market,  are  often  in 
common  use  ;  even  a  rosewood  pig-pen  is  often  seen,  and  a  hut  of 
bamboo,  with  floor  of  mud,  may  contain  a  table  of  solid  mahogany. 

Among  trees  famous  for  their  size  and  durability  of  wood  are 
cedars,  cypresses,  ccibas  or  silk-cottons,  oaks,  pines,  and  tamarinds. 
Of  gum,  resin,  and  oil-yielding  plants,  cereals  and  alimental  plants, 
and  others  famous  for  their  medicinal  properties,  Mexico  has  indeed 
her  share  ;  for  the  Mexican  flora,  rich  and  varied,  contains  over  ten 
thousand  species  known  and  analyzed.     There  is  hardly  a  fruit  in  the 

*5 


226  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OE   TREASURE. 

known  world  that  does  not  find  a  congenial  home  here  ;  to  mention 
all  would  be  to  enumerate  nearly  every  variety  cultivated  in  both 
habitable  zones.  Of  native  trees  the  cacao  (Theobroma  cacao)  flourishes 
in  the  warmer  regions,  giving  profitable  returns  for  its  culture.  It 
was  famous  in  early  Aztec  times,  and  the  beverage  produced  from  its 
seed,  chocolate,  was  well  known  to  them  as  chocolatl. 

"  Thousands  of  flowers  embellish  the  meads  and  adorn  the  gardens 
of  Mexico,  of  most  singular  beauty  and  extraordinary  forms."  All 
had  significant  Aztec  names,  even  in  remote  times,  such  as  the  coat- 
zontecoxochitl,  or  viper's  head,  of  incomparable  beauty  ;  the  oceloxochitl, 
or  tiger-flower ;  the  chcmpoalxockitl,  or  Indian  carnation ;  the  flori- 
pnndo,  beautiful,  white,  odoriferous,  eight  inches  in  length  by  four  in 
diameter.  The  marphalxochitl,  or  hand-flower,  is  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  productions  of  Nature,  being  in  shape  a  bird's  foot,  or  the 
hand  of  an  ape.  But  one  plant  is  said  to  have  existed  in  ancient 
times,  for  the  possession  of  which  a  sanguinary  battle  was  fought. 

Where  the  hills  set  their  feet  upon  the  plains  of  the  coast, 
vegetation  radically  changes,  and  we  gradually  pass  to  the  cooler  and 
more  salubrious  climate  of  the  temperate  region.  Rising  higher  and 
higher  in  our  ascent  from  the  coast,  our  eyes  are  bewildered  by  the 
vast  variety  of  vegetable  forms  that  are  massed  upon  the  trees,  the 
wild  pines  and  air-plants  and  hosts  of  ferns,  bignonias  with  tints 
of  sea-shell,  orchids  with  spikes  of  blossoms,  and  an  entire  world 
of  creepers  and  parasitic  vines,  unknown  to  any  but  the  skilled 
botanist. 

The  most  important  product  of  the  temperate  region  is  coffee, 
which  thrives  best  at  an  altitude  of  from  three  to  four  thousand  feet, 
where  it  gets  shade  and  moisture,  which  the  lowlands  of  the  caliente 
cannot  invariably  supply,  and  a  temperature  changing  but  slightly 
from  year  to  year.  Though  the  tree  in  its  native  mountains  of  Cey- 
lon attains  a  height  of  twenty  feet,  on  the  plantation  it  is  pruned 
down  to  eight  or  ten,  forming  dome-shaped  masses  of  glossy  green. 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  A    STRANGE   COUNTRY.  227 

The  berries  which  cluster  along  the  slender  branches  are  about  the 
size  of  a  cherry,  at  first  green,  then  changing  to  bright  red,  the  bean 
itself  being  contained  in  a  viscid  pulp.  A  coffee  plantation  is  indeed 
beautiful,  with  wide  straight  paths  opening  through  the  dark  green 
coffee-trees  gleaming  with  berries,  and  filling  the  air  with  perfume 
from  clouds  of  snowy  blossoms. 

Beyond  an  altitude  of  four  thousand  feet,  vegetation  is  less  luxuriant. 
The  Old  World  grains,  as  wheat  and  barley,  flourish  best  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  six  thousand  feet ;  and  there  begin  the  pines,  while  Indian  corn 
marches  with  us  all  the  way  from  the  coast,  and  climbs  with  us  up 
the  mountain  sides.  The  maize  (Spanish,  mazs),  this  precious  cereal, 
was  probably  cultivated  a  thousand  years  before  our  country  acquired 
a  name ;  at  the  present  day  it  is  almost  the  sole  support  of  the 
Mexican  Indian.  In  our  journey  through  the  Indian  hill-towns  of 
Southern  Mexico,  we  rode  for  days  through  successive  valleys  filled 
with  maize,  where  the  villages  were  entirely  hidden  in  vast  fields,  and 
where  the  giant  culms  with  their  feathered  crests  reached  far  above 
our  heads  as  we  sat  on  horseback.  Its  yield  is  astonishing,  and  said 
frequently  to  reach  two  hundred  fold. 

At  about  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  resuming  our  journey, 
we  reach  the  verge  of  the  table-land  that  lies  between  the  eastern 
and  western  Cordilleras,  and  extends  over  an  area  of  some  fifteen 
hundred  by  five  hundred  miles.  Not  a  trace  of  tropical  vegetation 
exists,  save  in  the  cactus,  aloe,  and  nearly  related  plants. 

"  We  are  here  reminded  that  Mexico  belongs  to  the  region  of  cacti 
and  peppers,  possessing  as  she  does  a  full  share  of  the  five  hundred 
species  found  in  America.  Some  of  these  cacti,  as  the  cereae,  rise  to 
a  height  of  sixty  feet,  with  branches  like  candelabra,  whence  the  name 
of  the  plant,  —  the  candelabra  cactus.  Some  are  globular,  and  weigh  at 
least  two  hundred  pounds,  and  all  are  covered  with  spines.  The 
cereae  creep  like  snakes  along  the  ground  ;  the  opuntias,  or  Indian 
figs,  furnish  refreshing  fruit  ;  and  the  leaves  of  some  species  support 
the  cochineal." 


228  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF    TREASURE. 

The  cactus  has  not  without  reason  been  termed  "  the  vegetable 
spring  of  the  wilderness,"  as  in  the  dry  season  the  cattle  and  horses 
of  the  plains  depend  on  the  opuntia  for  their  nourishment.  With 
their  horns  or  hoofs  they  remove  the  thorns  and  wool  on  the  top  of 
the  echinocactae,  and  bite  out  of  it  a  small  reservoir,  in  which  a  clear 
sap  collects  during  the  night,  which  quenches  their  thirst  in  the 
morning.  These  vegetable  reservoirs  refill  themselves  for  weeks  in 
succession  ;  and  the  brutes  know  their  watering-places  well,  returning 
to  them  every  morning  and  defending  them  savagely  against  all 
usurpers. 

"  But  the  miracle  of  Nature  "  is  the  maguey,  —  the  Agave  Mexicana, 
sometimes,  though  erroneously,  called  the  century  plant,  —  whose 
habitat  is  this  same  plateau  we  are  describing.  When  the  Span- 
iards first  arrived  here  in  15 19,  the  native  Mexican  had  the  maguey, 
which  yielded  him  almost  the  hundred  uses  of  the  palm.  From  the 
pulp  of  its  leaves  paper  is  made,  and  twine  from  its  fibres.  Upon 
such  paper  (which  much  resembles  the  true  papyrus)  the  rare  and 
valuable  Mexican  manuscripts  were  painted.  Needles  are  obtained 
from  its  thorn-tipped  leaves,  and  ready-threaded  by  stripping  away 
the  fibres  attached.  The  poor  people  thatch  their  houses  with  the 
leaves ;  use  a  hollow  leaf  as  a  gutter,  a  cradle,  a  bread-tray.  Its 
uses  are  almost  innumerable.  The  pita,  or  strong  fibre,  is  woven 
into  everything,  from  ropes  to  hammocks. 

But  it  is  from  the  sap  of  the  maguey,  its  life  blood,  that  the 
Indian  obtains  that  which  he  prizes  most,  —  the  native  beverage,  in 
use  from  time  immemorial,  — pulque. 

The  leaves  of  the  maguey  are  sometimes  ten  feet  in  length  and  a 
foot  in  breadth.  From  the  centre  of  the  plant,  at  from  ten  to  fifteen 
years  of  age,  a  giant  flower-stock  is  shot  up,  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet 
in  height,  after  which  supreme  effort  the  exhausted  plant  dies,  having 
performed  the  service  to  Nature  for  which  it  was  created.  Just  before 
the  period  of  inflorescence  the  Indian  cuts  out  the  whole  heart  of  the 


SOMETHING   ABOUT  A    STRANGE   COUNTRY.  231 

plant,  and  into  the  reservoir  thus  formed  the  juice  for  the  nourishment 
of  the  flower-stock  is  abundantly  poured,  —  from  eight  to  ten  pints  a 
day  for  two  or  three  months.  This  is  the  aguamicl,  or  honey-water, 
which  the  Indian  extracts  by  means  of  suction  through  a  long  hollow 
gourd,  called  acojote,  or  water-throat.  It  is  then  taken  to  the  hacienda 
in  sheepskin  sacks,  where  it  undergoes  fermentation  and  becomes 
pulque,  a  liquor  refreshing  and  but  slightly  intoxicating. 

It  may  be  said  to  exert  a  beneficial  effect  upon  the  Mexican,  who 
is  determined  to  drink  something ;  and  it  would  better  be  the  mild 
and  somniferous  pulque  than  mescal,  or  aguardiente,  the  Mexican  fire- 
water. It  seems  to  produce  a  very  satisfactory  state  of  inebriety,  favor- 
able to  good-humor  and  sleep.  The  odor  of  pulque  is  not  attractive. 
It  tastes  like  stale  buttermilk,  and  is  not,  to  a  stranger,  the  "  nectar  fit 
for  grods  "  the  Mexican  believes. 

But  I  must  not  allow  the  seductive  honey-water  to  divert  us  from 
our  course  up  the  mountains.  Let  us  journey  on.  We  have,  I  think, 
taken  a  comprehensive  survey  of  Mexico's  flora,  and  incidentally  of 
her  resources  of  fields  and  forests.  Perhaps  it  may  not  appear  irrele- 
vant to  introduce  an  incident  of  travel,  while  at  the  same  time  follow- 
ing in  the  line  of  our  investigations. 

I  did  not  intend  to  stray  so  far  away ;  but  I  have  not  lost  sight  of 
the  end  we  had  in  view,  let  me  assure  you.  Still  keeping  my  Indian 
companion,  who  had  become  much  attached  to  me,  I  recrossed  Yuca- 
tan, and  with  an  escort  of  native  soldiers,  penetrated  to  the  northeast 
coast,  towards  which  the  red  hand  pointed.  I  knew  there  could  be 
no  other  place  intended  than  the  ruined  city  of  Tuloom  ;  and  thither 
I  went.  There  stands  this  city,  on  the  northern  coast,  silent,  deserted, 
and  almost  unknown.  Centuries  have  passed  since  its  corridors 
echoed  to  the  footfalls  of  its  inhabitants,  and  since  the  Indian  watch- 
men looked  out  from  its  signal  towers. 


232  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE.. 

"  On  the  coast  of  Yucatan, 
As  untenanted  of  man 
As  a  castle  under  ban 

By  a  doom, 
For  the  deeds  of  blood)-  hours, 
Overgrown  with  tropic  bowers, 
Stand  the  Teocallis  towers 
Of  Tuloom. 

"  One  of  these  is  fair  to  sight, 
Where  it  pinnacles  a  height ; 
And  the  breakers  blossom  white, 

As  they  boom 
And  split  beneath  the  walls  ; 
And  an  ocean  murmur  falls 
Through  the  melancholy  halls 

Of  Tuloom." 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE   ISLAND    OF  TIZIMINCHAK. 

Fierce  Indians  of  Tuloom. —  Fowls  on  Spears,  and  Corn  on  Arrow-points.  —  The 
Red  Hand  points  to  Guatemala. — Bound  for  Belize. — A  Buccaneer  Town. 
~A  Journey  to  Lake  Peten.  —  The  Island  Capital. — The  Last  of  the 
Itzaes.  —  The  Horse  of  Cortez.  — The  Indians  worship  his  Image  of  Stone. 
—  The  God  of  Thunderbolts,  Tiziminchak.  —  Massacre  of  the  Missionaries.  — 
Fury  of  the  Zamagnales. —  Country  of  the  Lacandones.  — Stone  Implements 
and  Little  Grass  Cradles. —  The  Tongue-tied  Dog  and  Dogs  that  couldn't 
bark. — End  of  the  Doctor's  Narrative. 


HAD  expected  to  have  my  journey  interrupted  by 
the  fierce  Indians  of  the  east  coast  of  Yucatan,  who 
have  a  hatred  of  white  men,  and  never  allow  an  op- 
portunity to  pass  of  doing  them  injury.  These  In- 
dians are  known  as  Sublevados,  or  rebels ;  but  in 
reality  they  never  were  conquered,  and  their  chiefs 
have  sworn  they  never  shall  be.  Formerly  they  used  to  kill  every 
white  man  visiting  their  country  at  sight ;  or  if  they  chanced  to 
take  him  prisoner,  he  was  put  to  death  with  dreadful  tortures. 
They  are  supposed  to  be  a  remnant  of  the  once  powerful  people 
known  as  the  Itzaes,  who  ruled  Yucatan,  and  who  perhaps  built 
the  wonderful  palaces  we  find  there  now.  Their  province  was  called 
Bakalar,  and  was  once  a  stronghold  of  the  Itzaes,  who  are  now  only 
represented  by  a  small  tribe  in  Yucatan  and  another  about  the 
shores  of  Lake  Peten.     It  was  here,  in  15 28,  that  Captain  Daxila,  who 


234 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE, 


was  one  of   the  conquering  army  of   Spaniards  under  Montijo,  met 
with  repulse  at  the  hands  of  the  native  cacique. 

The  Spaniards  demanded  of  the  cacique  gold  and  provisions  ;  but 
the  haughty  prince  sent  back  word  that  he  would  give  them  fowls 
on  spears  and  corn  on  arrow-points  ;  and  he  so  nearly  fulfilled  that 
threat  that  Daxila  was  only  too  glad  to  escape  with  what  was  left  of 
his  detachment  to  the  coast. 

The  country  to  the  south  and  west  of  Bakalar  is  almost  unexplored, 
and  I  believe  it  is  very  rich  in  remains  of  the  ancient  civilizations. 

It  was  of  no  use  for  me  to  tarry  in  Tuloom.  The  longer  I  re- 
mained, the  greater  were  the  chances  I  should  be  found  out  by  some 
prowling  Sublevado.  Neither  did  I  wish  to  retrace  my  steps,  and  re- 
turn to  the  capital  of  Yucatan  or  to  Mexico.  The  red  hand  pointed 
southward  again,  and  that  for  a  long  time  puzzled  me.  If  I  continued 
following  that  mysterious  symbol,  which  pointed  as  many  ways  as  a 
weather-vane,  I  should  never  get  anywhere.  But  as  I  was  gaining 
information  all  the  time,  it  did  not  matter  much,  even  though  I  was 
still  in  the  dark  regarding  the  treasure.  My  Indian,  who  had  been  in 
Guatemala,  suggested  I  should  try  that  country,  and  especially  as  the 
red  finger  pointed  thitherward.  And  as  if  to  emphasize  his  sugges- 
tion, we  saw  a  sail,  that  afternoon,  standing  along  the  coast  evidently 
bound  for  Belize  !  I  was  looking  out  from  the  watch-tower,  and  saw  it 
come  into  sight  from  the  direction  of  the  island  of  Cozumel.  As  soon 
as  it  was  near  enough  to  signal,  I  waved  a  red  blanket  over  the  battle- 
ment, which  the  helmsman  finally  seemed  to  see.  But  it  approached 
cautiously,  fearing  evidently  the  wild  Indians,  until  the  men  on  board 
could  distinguish  that  I  was  a  white  man.  Then  the  vessel  came  up 
in  the  wind,  and  sent  a  boat  ashore.  The  captain  promised  to  take  us 
to  Belize,  whither  he  was  Groins  .  ancj  we  were  SOon  on  board,  and 
leaving  Tuloom  in  the  distance.  Belize,  as  you  may  know,  is  a  British 
colony  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Yucatan.  It  had 
its   origin  in  those  times  when  Spanish  galleons   sailed   the  sea  and 


THE  ISLAND    OF   TIZIMINCHAK.  235 

English  buccaneers  pursued  them.  The  river,  town,  and  eventually 
the  colony  were  named  from  one  Wallis,  a  noted  pirate,  who  made  the 
safe  and  secluded  harbor  back  of  the  coral  reefs  his  secure  retreat. 

The  valuable  dye-woods  and  timber  found  in  the  forests  of  this 
coast  gradually  attracted  quite  a  colony,  and  by  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century  there  was  a  large  British  settlement,  which  the 
Spaniards  tried  in  vain  to  destroy.  They  could  not  be  dislodged,  and 
finally  Spain  and  Great  Britain  fixed  the  limit  of  this  wood-cutting- 
colony  by  treaty  in  1783.  The  coast  limit  was  at  first  sixty  miles; 
but  it  soon  extended  farther,  and  in  1837  reached  from  Rio  Hondo  on 
the  north,  to  the  Rio  Sarsatoon  on  the  south,  a  distance  of  nearly  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Inland  from  the  sea-coast  the  settlers 
occupy  as  much  territory  as  they  please. 

As  a  colony,  it  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Yucatan,  east  by  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  south  by  Guatemala,  and  westerly  by  the  same  republic 
and  Campeche.  Proclaimed  a  British  colony  in  1852,  it  was  sepa- 
rated from  the  British  Crown  in  1S60,  and  ceded  to  Honduras  ;  but 
guarantees  were  required  securing  the  civil  and  religious  liberty  of 
the  inhabitants. 

We  reached  Belize  in  safety,  and  then  we  departed,  for  there  was 
nothing  there  desirable  either  for  a  naturalist  or  a  treasure-seeker. 
I  had  been  thinking  over  all  the  evidence  on  our  short  voyage,  and 
had  concluded  I  would  try  to  reach  Peten,  the  island  capital  of  the 
ancient  Lacandones,  in  the  far  interior.  Engaging  guides  and  mules,  I 
set  out  bravely,  and  after  a  week  of  the  wildest  kind  of  travel  reached 
the  great  lake,  "  which  is  called  Chaltana,"  an  old  historian  says.  In 
some  places  it  is  said  to  be  fathomless  ;  in  others,  thirty  fathoms 
deep.  Its  water  is  delightful  and  pleasant,  sweet  and  clear,  with 
good  fish  in  it,  and  icotcas,  or  tortoises.  It  has  creeks  and  arms  in  all 
directions,  and  numerous  streams  fall  into  it ;  but  it  has  no  outlet,  ex- 
cept perhaps  a  subterranean  one.  In  the  narrowest  part  of  this  lake, 
at  a  distance  of  some  five  miles  from  the  mainland,  is  the  great  island 


236  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB   IN  SEARCH   OF    TREASURE. 

on  which  the  Indian  capital  was  built,  called  Tayasal.  This  island  is 
very  steep  and  lofty,  with  a  table-land  on  top  and  very  broad.  When 
the  first  white  men  came  here,  it  was  covered  with  houses,  of  stone 
and  wood,  with  thatched  roofs ;  and  the  number  of  Indians  living 
here  was  very  great.  Within  a  short  distance  were  four  smaller 
islands,  and  another  Peten,  which  was  uninhabited.  Near  some  parts  of 
the  shores  are  pleasant  groves,  and  in  the  direction  of  the  mountains 
many  Coboxes,  and  other  nations,  once  under  control  of  the  Cacique 
of  Peten. 

Herds  of  wild  animals  are  found  in  the  woods,  as  deer  and  moun- 
tain hogs,  turkeys  and  pheasants ;  and  valuable  spice  and  timber  trees 
abound  here.  The  first  arrivals  found  a  great  many  stone  idols, 
made  of  jasper,  green,  violet,  and  red,  and  arrows  with  heads  of  crystal 
instead  of  flint.  The  land  yields  two  crops  a  year,  of  corn,  indigo, 
cochineal,  etc. ;  the  climate  is  healthy,  and  there  are  very  few  poisonous 
reptiles  or  insects. 

Here  reside  the  last  descendants  of  the  most  ancient  inhabitants  of 
Yucatan,  the  Itzaes,  who  have  a  brown  complexion  like  the  Yucate- 
cos.  This  island  was  discovered  by  Hernando  Cortez,  three  hundred 
and  sixty  years  ago,  when  he  was  on  his  way  to  Nicaragua, —  a  terrible 
journey,  that  lost  him  many  of  his  men.  He  was  well  received  by  the 
Itzaes:  and  when  about  to  depart  from  Peten,  he  left  with  Canek, 
cacique  of  the  tribe,  his  favorite  horse,  Monzillo,  which  had  been 
lamed.  The  simple  Indians  did  not  know  what  food  the  horse  re- 
quired, and  fed  it  with  the  best  they  had,  such  as  poultry,  and  other 
kinds  of  meat,  and  presented  him  with  bunches  of  flowers,  as  they 
were  accustomed  to  do  to  persons  of  rank  when  the)'  were  sick.  But 
the  horse  did  not  thrive  on  this  attention,  and  died,  at  which  the 
Indians  were  deeply  concerned.  They  made  an  effigy  of  him  in 
stone  and  mortar,  and  then  worshipped  it  as  a  divinity.  It  was  seated 
on  its  hind  quarters  on  the  floor  of  one  of  the  temples,  raised  on  its 
fore  legs,  and   with   its   hind    legs    bent    under    it.     These   barbarians 


THE   ISLAND    OF  TIZIMINCHAK.  237 

adored  it  as  the  God  of  Thunder  and  Thunderbolts,  and  called  it 
Tiziminchak,  which  means  the  Bride  of  Thunder,  or  the  Thunderbolt. 

Three  hundred  years  ago,  there  were  twenty  cues ,  or  temples,  in 
Peten,  in  which  the  native  priests  officiated.  The  principal  one  was 
square,  with  a  handsome  parapet,  and  approached  by  nine  steps  of 
beautiful  stones.  On  the  upper  step  by  the  entrance,  was  an  idol  of 
human  form,  with  very  bad  countenance,  sitting  on  his  heels ;  and  in 
the  temple  another  of  unwrought  emerald,  called  the  God  of  Battles. 

In  the  midst  of  the  temple,  which  was  formed  like  a  castle,  there 
was  found  by  the  white  men,  hanging  from  the  top  by  three  strips  of 
cotton  of  different  colors,  the  leg-bone  of  a  horse,  very  much  decayed. 
Below  it  hung  a  little  bag  containing  small  pieces  of  bone,  also  very 
much  decayed ;  and  on  the  ground  were  placed  three  braziers,  for  burn- 
ing perfumes  or  incense,  of  styrax  and  other  aromatic  substances,  which 
the  priests  used  in  the  sacrifices.  On  the  top  of  the  leg-bone  was  set 
a  crown.  It  was  explained  that  these  bones  were  the  fragments  of 
what  remained  of  a  great  horse  which  had  been  left  in  the  Indians' 
care  by  a  king  who  had  passed  that  way  a  long  time  before ;  from 
which  account  it  is  certain  the  so-called  king  was  Hernando  Cortez. 

The  first  missionaries  to  Peten  left  Merida,  the  capital  of  Yucatan, 
in  1618;  and  they  were  the  first  white  visitors  to  that  country  since  the 
visit  of  Cortez,  nearly  one  hundred  years  before. 

They  went  by  the  way  of  the  river  Nohuhun,  through  thick  forests, 
where  medicinal  shrubs  were  abundant,  and  gold  was  found  in  the 
streams.  The  Itzaes  of  Peten  received  the  white  strangers  with 
hospitality,  and  treated  them  well,  till  one  of  the  Fathers  provoked 
them  ;  and  this  was  how  he  did  it.  He  attempted  to  destroy  their 
precious  idol-horse,  the  great  Tiziminchak.  No  sooner,  says  the  old 
chronicler,  had  he  heard  the  legend  of  the  horse  of  Cortez,  than  his 
religious  zeal  awoke,  and  seizing  a  large  stone,  he  mounted  upon  the 
image,  and  straightway  began  to  batter  it  to  pieces,  scattering  the  frag- 
ments over  the  floor  of  the  temple. 


238  THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF   TREASURE. 

The  Itzae  priests,  the  Zamagnales,  raised  a  tremendous  outcry- 
when  they  witnessed  the  destruction  of  their  favorite  idol,  and  loudly 
clamored  that  the  missionaries  should  be  put  to  death  for  having 
killed  their  god.  The  iconoclastic  priests  narrowly  escaped  with  their 
lives,  but  they  got  away.  But  five  years  later,  in  1623,  a  priest  named 
Father  Delgado,  guided  by  a  man  called  Cristoval  Na,  and  accom- 
panied by  eighty  Indians,  reached  Peten.  They  were  all  put  to  death, 
and  their  hearts  torn  out  and  offered  to  the  idols  by  the  Itzaes.  This 
is  the  story,  all  that  the  white  man  knows  of  it,  of  the  great  Tizimin- 
chak,  the  holy  horse  of  Peten.  How  long  the  Itzaes  worshipped  him 
nobody  exactly  knows,  but  for  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

Two  hundred  years  ago  the  Lacandones,  the  Indians  of  the  region 
between  Peten  and  Guatemala,  were  subjugated  by  the  Spaniards,  and 
they  fled  to  the  dense  forests.  But  they  left  behind  plenty  of  stores ; 
their  houses  being  filled  with  maize,  beans,  and  cotton,  together  with 
primitive  warring  instruments,  blow-guns  for  shooting  birds,  calabashes, 
grass  ropes,  and  stone  tools.  Little  grass  cradles  hung  from  the  roofs 
of  the  huts  showed  how  the  children  were  taken  care  of,  while  their 
mothers  attended  to  the  duties  of  the  household.  These  Indians  had 
tamed  the  native  birds,  and  had  also  dogs  and  tame  macaws. 

It  was  about  two  hundred  years  ago,  in  1697,  that  the  Spaniards 
undertook  the  conquest  of  Peten,  where  the  last  of  the  Itzaes  lived. 
A  great  road  was  built  from  Campeche,  and  the  lake  was  reached.  A 
most  desperate  battle  ensued  ;  but  the  Itzaes  finally  fled,  and  the  Span- 
ish soldiers  destroyed  every  vestige  of  the  altars  in  their  temples,  and 
their  idols,  the  labor  occupying  several  days. 

It  was  during  this  campaign,  when  the  Spaniards  found  them- 
selves in  a  particularly  bad  place  and  wished  to  escape,  that  a  shrewd 
stratagem  was  employed.  Noticing  that  some  of  the  Indian  sentinels 
were  careless  on  their  watch,  the  captain  of  the  company  tied  the 
tonsrue  of  a  lar^e  bell  to  the  tail  of  a  hungry  do^,  and  caused  food  to 


THE  ISLAND   OF   TIZIMINCHAK. 


239 


be  placed  before  him  at  a  distance  just  beyond  his  reach.  When  the 
dog  saw  the  soldiers  depart,  he  strove  to  follow  them,  and  in  trying  to 
reach  the  food,  also,  his  motions  rang  the  bell.  Thus  the  Indians, 
hearing  the  noise,  thought  the  Spaniards  were  still  in  camp,  and  were 
deceived  till  they  had  escaped  beyond  the  reach  of  pursuit. 

This  dog  story  reminds  me  of  another  that  I  found  in  an  old  book 
published  in  the  year  1555.  The  author,  Petrus  Martyr,  in  the  quaint 
old  English  of  his  time,  says  of  discoveries  which  had  then  been 
recently  made, — 

"  They  say  the  same  of  the  islands  lately  found  ;  whereof  two  are  named 
Destam  and  Lestam,  whose  inhabitants  go  naked ;  and  for  scarceness  of  chil- 
dren, sacrifice  dogges,  which  they  nourish  as  well  for  that  purpose  as  we  do 
connies.  These  dogges  are  dumme,  and  cannot  barke,  having  snoutes  like  unto 
foxes.  Such  as  they  destinate  to  eat,  they  set  apart  while  they  are  whelpes, 
whereby  they  waxe  very  fat  in  the  space  of  four  monthes." 

What  a  blessing  it  must  be  to  have  dogs  that  neither  bark  nor  bite, 
and  that  can  be  served  up  as  a  tidbit  for  the  table !  These  dumb  dogs 
are  also  mentioned  as  occurring  in  Cuba,  Mexico,  and  Haiti ;  but  they 
are  now  extinct.  Indeed,  they  may  not  have  been  dogs  at  all,  but  per- 
haps raccoons  or  agontis. 

The  largest  animal  in  the  forests  about  Lake  Peten  is  not  fero- 
cious,  and  the  forests  are  remarkably  free  from  poisonous  snakes.  We 
roamed  them  at  will,  but  did  not  shoot  anything  beyond  what  we 
needed  for  food.  The  old  temple-ruins  and  the  Indian  houses  on  the 
island  we  searched  in  vain  for  some  repetition  of  the  red-hand  symbol. 
Perhaps  the  Spaniards  destroyed  all  vestige  of  it  when  they  tore  down 
the  temples.  However  that  may  be,  I  did  not  find  trace  of  it.  And 
of  course,  there  being  no  sign  to  guide  me,  and  no  glyph  similar  to 
the  characters  in  the  book  of  bark,  I  had  perforce  to  give  up  my 
search.  That  it  is  high  time  to  do  so,  I  have  no  doubt  you,  my  dear 
companions  who  may  have  followed  me  thus  far,  will  admit.     But  I 


240 


THE  KNOCKABOUT  CLUB  IN  SEARCH  OF  TREASURE. 


am  not  disappointed  in  the  failure  to  find  the  treasure,  for  I  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  the  search. 

"  It  is  not  all  of  life  to  live,"  nor  is  it  all  of  success  to  "  succeed." 
What  I  mean  is  that  in  searching  for  the  treasure  we  found  our  reward 
in  the  search.  With  our  getting  we  got  understanding.  In  our  desul- 
tory wanderings  we  have  acquired  a  goodly  amount  of  information  ; 
and  I  hold  that  what  we  put  into  the  brain  is  worth  more  to  us  than 
what  we  put  in  our  pockets.  Now  I  am  going  to  take  leave  of  you. 
Of  the  fate  of  my  companions,  the  Professor  and  the  Historian, 
you  have  already  been  informed ;  and  that  I  myself  escaped  the  dan- 
gers of  the  forests  and  reached  home,  these  lines  are  in  evidence  to 
prove. 


